Stranger Things Have Happened
by Nikelodean
Summary: Chase has just been fired by House. Will he find new possibilities with a certain Dean of Medicine? And how will House handle it?
1. Chapter 1 The Shortest Relationship

CHAPTER 1 – THE SHORTEST RELATIONSHIP IN HISTORY

**CHAPTER 1 – THE SHORTEST RELATIONSHIP IN HISTORY**

Robert Chase rolled over and felt the empty spot next to him in the bed. It was cold, which meant that Allison had been up for a long time. "Allison?" he called out as he sat up in bed. He didn't smell the coffee that had awakened him for the past two days, nor did he hear any movement or get a response to his call. The place had an empty feel to it that kind of unnerved him and he reached down and picked up his sweatpants from the floor where he had flung them the night before. He slipped them on and padded into the living room. "Allison?"

The empty room didn't quite surprise him, although he was disappointed. He glanced around, squinting at the table next to the sofa where he thought he saw a piece of paper. He walked over to the table and looked down at the folded over piece of paper that had "Robert" written on the outside. He took a deep breath before picking it up. He almost didn't bother reading it, because he was fairly certain he knew what it said. When he and Allison had made love the night before (_"Had sex", _his traitorous mind whispered), she had seemed almost detached from the whole thing…as if she was merely going through the motions.

She had told him that she was tired because she had had a long day. Cuddy had called Cameron the day after she quit and told her that she could work off her two weeks notice in the clinic. Unfortunately for Allison, there was some weird stomach virus going around and not only had the clinic been packed, one quarter of the hospital staff was either out sick or so under the weather that they were practically useless in the clinic. To make matters worse, no one could figure out the source of the stomach bug or how to treat it since normal anti-emetics weren't effective. House had latched on to the mystery and kept Allison hemmed up helping him. Between the clinic and House's demands, it had been easy for Robert to believe her claim of exhaustion.

He read through the letter quickly. Allison had written (in her girly handwriting that always made him smile) that she wasn't ready for a serious relationship, she made a mistake, she thought he was a great guy but she needed more time…blah, blah, blah. Robert balled the letter up and tossed it on the floor before flopping down onto the sofa. He should have known it was too good to be true. Something positive had happened in his life and for two glorious days everything was sunshine and roses. Now…now it was the same crappy life that it had been for the last God-only-knew-how-many years. He sighed. Now all he needed was to get a call from his best prospect for employment telling him that they didn't want him to even bother coming in for an interview.

Chase jumped nearly a foot when the phone rang. He stared at it with dread for four rings before the answering machine picked it up. He grimaced when he heard Dr. Lisa Cuddy's voice. "She probably wants me to help with the stomach virus crisis. There is no way in hell I'm going back there and…" Robert's thoughts became silent as he focused on what Cuddy was saying. "…sorry I didn't get a chance to speak with you before you left. House had no right to just fire you that way. Anyway, I would like to meet with you to discuss other positions available here. In fact, I have something that I think you would be very interested in. Please contact me…"

Chase jumped up and grabbed the phone before she could hang up. "Dr. Cuddy? Yes, I'm here. I was just getting out of the shower." Robert took a second to close his eyes and shake his head as his own stupidity, thinking, "_I mean, really, why would I say that to my former boss's boss? I'm such an idiot!_" Robert cleared his throat in embarrassment and attempted to recover his dignity. "Um…you said something about another position…?

On the other end of the phone, Cuddy was berating herself for the mental image that filled her mind when Chase mentioned he had just come out of the shower. "_Goodness, Lisa. The boy is young enough to be my…little brother. Let's keep the lascivious thoughts to a minimum, shall we?_" She heard Chase ask her something, but she had no idea what it was. She took a chance and answered anyway. "Why don't you come in today and we can discuss it?"

Chase thought for a minute. He didn't want to appear too eager, especially when he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to go back to occupying the same space as Gregory House. Or Allison Cameron, for that matter. He was fairly sure House would be able to convince her to stay, at least until he hired a new team. Knowing House, that could take a while.

Cuddy sensed his hesitation and had a feeling she knew the cause. She decided to give him just enough information to make him curious. Get the fish to nibble a bit before jerking the hook into his mouth. Cuddy smiled at the analogy and told him, "You would get a considerable raise and you would no longer have to answer to House."

Chase waited another few seconds before responding. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to come in and talk. I could come this afternoon." Cuddy flipped through her appointment book with a frown. "I have a board meeting this afternoon, but I could see you around 4 o'clock." They spoke for another minute, confirming the time, then Chase said his goodbyes. He sat on the couch, staring at the crumpled up note and wondered if he was setting himself up to be hurt again. He bent over, picked up the note, and smoothed it out. He smiled at the loopy letters on the page, then his lip began to quiver and he curled up on the couch with the letter clutched in his hand, willing himself not to cry.


	2. Chapter 2 A Golden Opportunity

Hello

_Hello! Sorry I forgot to write a little intro paragraph for the first chapter. I was in such a rush to get it up because I had limited time on the internet that it completely slipped my mind. This story was something I wanted to write a while ago…back when I first started to realize that there was more to Chase then just pretty eyes and a sexy mouth (not that THAT can be discounted!). I _really _didn't like the idea of Chase and Cameron together because quite frankly I think he deserves better (and all you Cameron lovers out there, please don't get all upset. You have to admit she doesn't exactly treat him like he's the love of her life. But I won't be Cameron bashing…much…in this fic, so it should be safe to read for you). Anyway, this story is set right after the end of the Season 3 finale. I am pretty much ignoring season 4 (except for one thing mentioned in Chapter 3 or 4). For now, I am acting like Season 4 never happened, but I might "borrow" a moment or two if it fits in with the story. Anyway…happy reading!! This is rated M for a couple of chapters, but it's mostly going to be T. _

**CHAPTER 2 – A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY**

At 3:59 pm, Chase entered Dr. Cuddy's office after spending about ten minutes exchanging small talk with Melissa, Cuddy's assistant. Cuddy was sitting at her desk when he walked in the door. She stood up as he walked over and held out her hand to shake his. She smiled at him and said, "Hello, Dr. Chase. I'm glad you could come in on such short notice. Have a seat." Cuddy gestured to the chair in front of her desk and Chase slid into it. There was a moment of silence that Chase couldn't fight the urge to break. "So…Dr. Cuddy. You look well." Chase winced at what had come out of his mouth and saw one of Cuddy's eyebrows raise. She leaned forward a bit and asked him, "Do I usually _not _look well?"

Chase felt his face flush slightly and rushed to correct his second foot-in-mouth comment of the day. "Oh, no, not at all. In fact, you usually look pretty goo…" Chase's mouth snapped shut before he could finish his statement. "_What the HELL is wrong with you? Come on, get it together, try not to say anything stupid…again." _After his little internal pep talk, Chase tried again. "What I meant was, since the stomach bug was going around, I was concerned that you might have picked it up. I'm glad to see that you are in good health."

Cuddy smiled at him and thought, "_Good save, kid. Glad to see you can recover the ball even after you fumble._" Out loud, she told him, "I seem to have the constitution of a horse…except, of course, when I succumb to mass hysteria." When Chase looked at her in confusion, Cuddy frowned. She would have thought House would have told everyone about what happened on the plane from Singapore, but apparently, he kept it to himself. She shook her head, knowing the futility of trying to wade through the complexities that were Greg House and focused on the young man sitting in front of her.

"Dr. Chase, I have a job offer for you. I'm not going to lie – I did offer this job to Dr. Foreman before he left. He, obviously, turned it down. But I don't want you to think that you were second choice. I offered it to him first because I didn't want him to leave our hospital. He's a very gifted neurologist and I could use someone with his skill. But after House fired you, I looked through the recent cases the diagnostics team has handled, trying to see if there was some logical reason for your termination. What I found made me even more confused. Your abilities as a diagnostician have grown by leaps and bounds. Actually, as I looked back through the past few years of House's case notes, I see a definite talent. Your problem seems to have been that you didn't push your ideas. When House shot them down, you just went with the flow. It hasn't been until recently that you've really begun to stand by your diagnosis. You've had some flashes of, dare I say, House-like brilliance. Alice's case, for one."

Cuddy smiled as Chase grimaced and rubbed his face gingerly. "Dr. Cuddy, I'm sure you'll understand if I don't want to talk about Alice's case." Cuddy nodded and continued. "The case with the woman with methyl bromide poisoning. The thing with the cat…I know I would have missed that. Most people would have. But you've learned to observe things around you and see the significance in even the smallest details. You've probably already had this ability, but under House, you've been able to refine it and apply it to medicine. I was very impressed when I read through House's notes."

Chase shook his head, more than a little confused. "Dr. Cuddy, I've seen case notes. In fact, 9 times out of 10, one of us wrote them. Where are you getting all of your information? We don't usually write details about who came up with which idea, at least not while doing the differential." Cuddy smiled at his confusion. "I know House says that he looks at porn on the internet all day in his office, but he actually keeps very detailed reports of each case. He puts special emphasis on the contribution of his fellows. This is not something I require of him, which is why he does it. Of course, if I were to demand such a record, I'd never see anything. I asked him why he fired you and after the obligatory smartss comments, he emailed me a copy of his notes on all of the cases since you've been working for him. In fact, Dr. Chase, it might interest you to know…" Cuddy's voice trailed off and she bit her lip thoughtfully. Chase's eyes drifted to her lips for a moment before he snapped his eyes back to her face as she continued in a low voice. "I don't know if I really should be mentioning this to you…" Chase unconsciously leaned forward so he could hear her better. "Oh, come on, Dr. Cuddy. You can't tell me something like that and not follow through. You have to finish what you started."

Cuddy looked at Chase, wondering if he realized how provocative his comment sounded, especially given his close proximity to her now that he was practically leaning over her desk. He must have realized something, because he suddenly straightened up and blushed again. She couldn't help but wonder if he always blushed like that or if it was just her. She gave a mental shrug and decided to fill him in on some of the contents of House's case notes. If she knew House, Chase had gotten more than his share of abuse and very few kudos, so it was time the intensivist knew exactly how House felt about him.

"House highlighted your contributions to the cases. At first, I thought he was pointing out all of the mistakes so he could justify your dismissal, but then I realized that he was tracking your progress…and potential. He even said that you "out-diagnosed" him on Alice's case. Of course, he attributed the "fluke" to his detoxing, but still…it's more than I've ever heard House say about anyone else."

Chase sat there, astounded. His voice, when he spoke, was somewhat shaky. "All he did…ever…was call me a screw up. Every now and then he might admit that I wasn't a complete moron, but basically…nothing but jabs at my intelligence, poking into my personal life, the occasional punch to the jaw…" Chase's voice drifted off as he thought about his former boss.

Cuddy looked at him in sympathy. She, too, had been rather shocked when she read House's notes. To read his thoughts, one would think that Chase was his favorite. She decided to get down to business. She cleared her throat to get his attention again. "Dr. Chase, I want to give you the opportunity to run a second diagnostics department. It would double your current salary and you would report to me. You could choose your own team. You could even have Dr. Cameron on your team if you…" Chase interrupted Cuddy with an adamant, "No!" Cuddy raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. According to House, Chase and Cameron were living in virtual connubial bliss somewhere, but apparently that was no longer the case. She assured him, "Having Cameron on your team is not a condition of employment. Like I said, you are free to choose your own team. You know the type of work you'll be doing and what kind of personalities you'll need on your team. I think you, Foreman, and Cameron balanced each other well when you worked as a team."

Cuddy pulled out the file she had prepared for Foreman, although she had remembered to change the name on the folder. She went over some of the details of the position and answered some questions that he had. She kept one eye on the clock, because she had a dinner date at 7:00 and she needed time to change clothes and get ready. Her phone rang at 5:00 just as she and Chase were almost finished with the file. She picked it up and exchanged a few comments with the person on the other end. Chase tried not to listen, but it sounded like someone was canceling plans with Cuddy. She hung up with an irritated look and muttered, "Great." She asked Chase to give her a moment and pushed the button for her assistant.

"Melissa? I need you to get Lahiere's on the phone and cancel the reservation for tonight…" Chase interrupted her, astounded. "You're canceling a reservation to Lahiere's? Do you know how difficult it can be to get a reservation there? Why in the world are you canceling?" Cuddy frowned at him. "Not that it's _any _of your business but my…companion for the evening is unable to make it. And my idea of fun is _not _dining alone in a restaurant, I don't care how fancy it is." Cuddy put the phone back up to her ear and listened for a moment to the slightly raised voice of her assistant. "Melissa, I know how hard it is to get reservations there. I'm the one who made the damned reservations! Just call them…wait a minute, Melissa." She looked at Chase, who was shaking his head vigorously. "What is it now, Dr. Chase?"

Chase quailed slightly at the icy tone in her voice. She had called him Robert a couple of times while they were reviewing the information about the job, but it seemed he had taken a step backwards to "Dr. Chase" again. He didn't often act impulsively, especially when it came to personal matters, but he knew he was about to do something potentially stupid. "Look, Dr. Cuddy, since you already have the reservation for two, would you allow me the honor of escorting you to dinner? We need to celebrate, after all. You're about to get a first-rate diagnostics team that's going to save a lot of lives and bring you a lot of investors and money for the hospital. We could talk more about the position and my responsibilities over the meal...make it a nice business dinner. What do you say?"

Cuddy looked at the young man…the MAN…in front of her. He was nearly ten years younger than she was, but in a lot of ways he carried himself with more dignity and restraint than men _her _age. She decided to overlook the sexcapades with Cameron, since she discovered that she didn't particularly like thinking about the two of them together. He handled the assault from House and the whole Tritter mess with grace. She knew he was taking heat from everyone, and that no one trusted him at all. But day after day he still came in and did his job. And he put up with House's particular brand of insanity for more than three years. Either he had the patience of a saint or he _really _enjoyed abuse. She thought of all of the reasons why she shouldn't go with him. She was his employer and even though they were going under the guise of a business dinner, it was what it was. A date. He smiled at her, as if he knew the inner struggle she was having. She did a mental shrug and told Melissa not to bother canceling. She handed Chase a card with her home number on it. "Pick me up at 6:30." "_After all", _Cuddy thought, "_He's not my employee yet." _


	3. Chapter 3 The Date, Part 1

CHAPTER 3 – THE DATE – PART 1

**CHAPTER 3 – THE DATE – PART 1**

Robert pulled up in front of Cuddy's house. He took a few moments to calm the butterflies in his stomach. After all, he was going out with Dr. Lisa Cuddy, one of only three female hospital administrators in the country AND one of the sexiest women he had ever encountered. Although they were going to be discussing business, he knew that there were enough date elements present to actually justify calling it a date. He also knew that he was still a bit shell-shocked from his three day (+ three years) relationship with Allison. It would be ridiculous to think of this as anything more than a casual date with some business talk thrown in. He glanced down at the single red rose that was lying on the passenger seat. Of course, a little romance never hurt anything, either.

He got out of his new car. Ironically, he had purchased it the week before House had fired him. He had saved and worked a lot of extra hours to buy the car. His only regret was that he had gotten the boring Toyota Camry hybrid car instead of the sports car he wanted because of a conversation with Cameron over their responsibility to protect their planet. He and Foreman had basically laughed at her, but when he was in the lab with her later, she managed to convince him that he owed it to Mother Earth to at least consider buying a hybrid car. He had gone along with it, hoping it would score him some points the next time he went to tell her that it was Tuesday. "How lame was that?" he muttered as he walked up to Cuddy's house. He shrugged over his own stupidity. At least his wallet was a bit happier since the Camry got far better gas mileage than the car he was planning on getting. He took a deep breath, mentally booted Allison Cameron out of his mental database, and rang the bell. He was tempted to break in, for old time's sake, but he decided he liked his life too much to risk it.

Chase was fairly sure his eyes bugged out and his tongue rolled from his mouth, àla Jim Carey in _The Mask,_ when Cuddy opened the door. She was wearing a _very _form-fitting dark purple dress with spaghetti straps and a wonderfully plunging neckline. It draped here and cinched there…Chase was sure there were some technical terms for all of the decorative things on her dress, but he couldn't have cared less what they were. All he knew was that he felt as though he'd just sucked some nitrous oxide. She smiled at him and stood back to allow him to come in the house.

Cuddy smiled at the stunned look in Chase's eyes. She had been out with a few men over the course of the past few years, but no one's flattery or compliments had made her feel as incredibly beautiful as he just had with nothing but a look. She had to struggle to remind herself that she was way too old for him (or was it that he was way too young for her?) when she saw him in his dark gray suit and (gasp!) coordinating shirt and tie. Cuddy had always assumed that Chase wore the horrible clothes that he wore on purpose…maybe to make some sort of statement. Perhaps a rebellion against the restrictive, bourgeois attitude she used to assume he grew up with. She never for a moment considered that anyone with an intimate knowledge of the beautiful, delicate perfect balance of systems within the body that work together to sustain life could possible think that a brown and beige polka-dot tie went with a puke-green and yellow plaid shirt. With navy pants. Okay, well maybe he had never been that bad, but she never bought into the hospital gossip that he really was that clueless about clothes.

Looking at him now, she had to fight the urge to lick her lips. He looked devilishly handsome and, more importantly, he didn't look like a college boy. He actually looked like he could be her date. She was glad she had chosen the purple dress instead of the boring black one with the long sleeves and high neckline. She gestured towards the arm of the sofa where her wrap was draped and said, "I'm ready to go. I just need to put on my wrap." She glanced down and noticed for the first time that he had a rose in his hand. He lifted it up and she looked at it, enchanted. He stretched it out towards her and said softly, "You should smell this. I've never smelled such a fragrant rose." Cuddy closed her eyes and gently sniffed the rose, not noticing that Chase also closed his eyes and inhaled when the scent of her perfume wafted over him.

They both opened their eyes at the same time and looked at each other for a moment. Chase told her, "I wanted to get a bouquet of flowers for you, but when I went to the florist, I didn't see anything that seemed like something you'd want until I was about to leave. They only had this one rose left but something about it reminded me of you." Chase couldn't believe what he was saying and he definitely couldn't believe what he saw himself doing. He gently lifted the rose and lightly trailed it down the side of her face, causing her eyes to flutter closed again. He was nearly whispering when he said, "This rose was standing there all alone, but somehow seemed the stronger for it. It's delicate, yet was the most powerfully scented flower in the place. It looks fragile yet the stem is strong enough to hold up the bud without bending. Its petals are so soft you just want to reach out and stroke them…"

Cuddy opened her eyes and smiled ruefully. "But when you do, you get jabbed by a thorn?" Chase grinned. "Exactly! I knew you'd get it." Lisa took the rose carefully, being mindful of the thorns. She sighed and told him softly, "This isn't a date, Chase." Chase nodded and reached over to get her wrap. "You're right, Dr. Cuddy. I figured that since we both got dressed up and I came over here to pick you up and take you to a fancy restaurant where we will talk and probably learn a lot about each other, we couldn't possibly consider it a date. That's why I got the rose. I didn't want there to be any confusion."

Cuddy didn't smile. "The two of us going on a date would be a very bad idea. You and Cameron…" Chase cut her off. "We're over. We didn't even really get started." Cuddy tried again. "I'm your boss AND I'm ten years older than you." Chase smiled. "No, you're not my boss AND you're only 9 years older than I." Cuddy made an irritated sound. "House would have a field day with this. Do you really want to have to deal with _that _kind of crap all the time?" Chase shook his head in mock confusion. "And this would be different from the past three years how?" Cuddy had to concede that point to him. She looked down at the rose in her hand and smiled again, albeit sadly.

"Robert…I don't know how to take life lightly and do anything halfway. I'm too old for games and I don't want some crazy fling that we'd both regret every time we passed each other in the hall. I do have thorns…and sometimes I inadvertently draw blood."

Chase reached behind her and picked up her wrap. He gently pushed a tendril of hair out of her face and said, "Well, it's a good thing I'm a doctor because I have lots of bandages. Now, turn around. It's chilly and you need to cover your shoulders. We can't be late or we'll have to wait another 2 months to get another reservation." Lisa shook her head and turned so he could put on her wrap. She heard his indrawn breath as he saw the non-existent back of her dress. He muttered, "Good thing you're a doctor too because this dress is about to give me a myocardial infarction." Cuddy smiled and allowed herself to enjoy the tingle she felt where his fingers had brushed against her bare back. He held out his arm to her and she put her arm through his as he escorted her out the door.


	4. Chapter 4 The Date, Part 2

I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed

_I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed! I may not get a chance to answer all of the reviews. I am currently out of the country and I don't always have access (or have limited access) to the internet. So if I don't answer, don't think it's because I don't appreciate it!! Special thanks to _quack675 _for the advice. _

**CHAPTER 4 – THE DATE, PART 2**

When they arrived at the restaurant, Chase handed the key to the valet driver and walked around to the passenger side, waving off the other valet and opening the door for Cuddy himself. He held out his arm to her and they walked into the restaurant together. Chase felt a moment of pride walking into the restaurant. He saw many admiring looks from the males in the place (he was oblivious to the female admiration coming his way) and he couldn't help but think, "That's right. This beautiful woman is with _me_."

When they were seated, they were immediately poured fresh glasses of ice water. They both opened the menus and perused them for a bit. Cuddy had already peeked at the menu online, so already had an idea of what she wanted. When the sommelier came around, Chase requested the Pouilly Fuissé, receiving a smile and nod of approval from Cuddy. The waiter came and took their appetizer orders (a Caesar salad for her, and sea scallop sashimi for him). After the waiter left, there was a somewhat awkward silence while they both looked everywhere but at each other. Finally, Chase leaned in and said, "So…the guy that was supposed to come with you tonight? What…was he hit by a Mack truck? Laid low by a sudden aneurysm? Had to fly off to D.C. at the bequest of the President? What on earth was more important that being here with you?"

Cuddy smiled at his flirtatious tone. "He said that he forgot he had guests arriving in town."

Chase leaned back in his chair and studied her for a moment before replying, "He's lying. And what's more, you know he's lying. Why aren't you angrier about it?"

Cuddy shrugged. "What's the point in being angry? Obviously he didn't really want to come to dinner with me. It's his prerogative…and his loss."

Chase lifted his wine glass to her in a toast. "And my gain." Cuddy lifted her glass and lightly tapped it against his.

For the rest of the meal, there were no more awkward silences. Cuddy and Chase talked about everything under the sun. They compared favorite music and discovered (to their mutual surprise) that they both enjoyed some of the same artists. They talked about TV shows they both liked (guilty pleasure – American Idol) and hated. They found that they agreed on a lot of political topics, although they were divided in their opinions of the current crop of presidential candidates. They argued good-naturedly over whether American football was better than soccer and whether the Yankees (Chase's favorite) or the Mets (Cuddy's team) would make it to the playoffs in 2008. By the time they were ordering dessert, they'd found much more common ground than either one of them would have predicted.

Cuddy was having a difficult time remembering that she shouldn't be attracted to Robert Chase. He was very intelligent, articulate, and told wonderful stories about growing up in Australia. She knew he left out some of the more unpleasant parts of his childhood, but his descriptions of his homeland made her want to jump on a plane and head Down Under. His physical appeal was undeniable. His eyes were warm and focused on her. His smile was gentle, yet full of mischief and his lips looked soft and inviting. His accent nearly made her want to swoon and his hands…Cuddy sighed as she thought about what those clever hands could do to her.

"Lisa? Lisa, where did you go?"

Cuddy blinked her eyes and focused on the man in front of her. She flushed slightly, knowing she couldn't really tell him what she was thinking about. She told him instead, "I was thinking about dessert. That crème brulee looked amazing. Although I might have to sample your raspberry and white chocolate mousse cake, too."

Chase chuckled. "Well, what if I don't want to share?"

Cuddy pouted slightly then smiled. "I'm sure I can convince you to give me a little sample."

Chase picked up her hand and began to play with her fingers, lightly stroking them up and down while asking her, "And how, exactly, are you going to convince me?"

Cuddy watched his fingers do amazing things to her hands for a few seconds before she frowned and looked at him in confusion. "Chase…Robert, why are you so…so different now? I've seen you act slightly flirtatious with other female staff members, but you're never this forward. And you always seemed somewhat intimidated by me, if you don't mind me saying so. This is a side of you that I've never seen. I've already offered you the job, so you don't have to…"

Cuddy stopped as Chase dropped her hand abruptly and glared at her. This was also another side of him she hadn't seen before. He had more than likely been irritated with her before, but he had _never _let her see it. She wasn't sure how she felt about seductive Chase, but she absolutely _knew_ she didn't like angry Chase. She couldn't help but wince when she heard his voice. He sounded so cold.

"How could you even say that to me? You think I'm here with you because of the bloody job? We could have settled this hours ago in your office if the job was all I was interested in. You called me, remember? I don't need to try to seduce you to get the position. Apparently, it's already mine if I want it. Why is it, I wonder, that people are always ready to think the worst of me? Because I made a bad decision once and betrayed House? Is that going to be held against me forever? Or is it something else about me that makes people think I'm slime? Everyone thought I was betraying House to Tritter when it turned out to be his own best friend. Cameron thought I was the one who sabotaged Foreman's job interview. And now, you think I'm trying to get in your pants to get a job. Nice."

Cuddy looked down at the table. She felt horrible. He was absolutely right. She looked up, ready to apologize, when the dessert came. She kept her mouth closed while the waiter set the dishes down in front of them and poured coffee for them both. She smiled and thanked him, then looked at Robert, who was stirring an insane amount of sugar into his cup. "Robert, I'm sorry. I guess I'm not used to men being nice to me without wanting something in return. There are a few, like Wilson, who are nice just because, but generally, there's usually some sort of expectation of me, whether it's a good evaluation, money, or even sex."

Chase glanced up from his coffee and looked her in the eye. "What makes you think I don't want to have sex with you?"

Cuddy's mouth dropped open and she was speechless.

Chase continued, "I absolutely want to have sex with you, but not because I want the job, not because you have money, not because you run the damn hospital. I want to have sex with…no, I want to make love with you because you are smart, strong, confident, and without a doubt the sexiest woman I have ever laid eyes on. You take my breath away. You always have, from the first moment I saw you. I never bothered to approach you in that way or show you how I felt because you were my boss and you saw me as a boy. Maybe then I was little more than a boy. But I'm not that person anymore and we have a small window of opportunity here where you're not my boss. I'm tired of waiting for things to happen and I guess I've reached a point where I'm going to just go for what I want. I guess, in some weird way, I have House to thank for that."

Cuddy was still staring at him. She realized that her mouth was still hanging open and she closed it with a snap. "So, what exactly is it that you want, Robert?"

Chase scooped some of his mousse up on his fork and held it up to her mouth. She opened her mouth automatically and he fed her the dessert. She closed her eyes and savored the sweet combination of chocolate and raspberry. She couldn't help the soft moan that escaped her lips. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Robert was looking at her like she was next on his dessert list. She realized that her assessment was correct when he picked up her hand and kissed the inside of her palm, nibbling lightly on her skin. A tingly warmth spread from her hand down through her arm and encompassed her whole body. He looked into her eyes and said in a low voice, "I want you."

Cuddy had no idea how she got through the rest of dinner. She felt like she was in a Chase-induced sexual haze. She was completely thrown for a loop. After he left her office this evening, she had thought she had the upper hand. She just knew she was going to be in complete control. And she had had every intention of disabusing Chase of his boyish crush. Yes, she had admitted to herself that he was attractive and he had a lot of qualities that she admired, but she had absolutely no intention of doing anything other than exchanging some small talk and discussing the job. She had convinced herself of this right up to the moment she opened the door for him. She should have known all her carefully laid plans were going to go awry from the way her heart gave a loud thud when she saw him. She began to feel the evening get slightly away from her when she realized how sexy he made her feel. And she had to do some major pep-talking to herself in the car after that whole rose incident. But this…she was sinking fast and she knew it. There was nothing she could do about it. He had crushed her defenses with a kiss on the hand. A friggin' kiss on the hand!

She didn't say much on the car ride home. She was formulating a new plan. He would probably want to come in. Maybe she could invite him in and then, when he tried to make a move, she would act uninterested and unresponsive. His ego probably couldn't handle that and he would just leave. Then they could move on and pretend like this whole evening had never happened. She ignored the little voice that was telling her that she was crazy if she thought she would be able to act unresponsive to Robert Chase. She had confidence in herself. Even if he made her feel _something_, she would still act unaffected. She was good at acting. She did it nearly every time she had to schmooze a donor. She could handle Chase.

When they arrived at her house, Chase parked then came around to open the door for her. He walked her to her door and took the key from her to open the lock. When the door was opened, Cuddy looked at him and asked, "Would you like to come in for a nightcap?"

Chase looked at her with a knowing smile that reminded Cuddy eerily of one that House always wore when she was trying to put one over on him. He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him.

Cuddy only had a moment to think frantically, "_Don't react! Whatever you do, don't respond at all!!_" before his lips captured hers. Any other thoughts she may have head fell into a jumbled heap in her mind. All she could do was feel. She felt his hand sliding up her back to mold her closer to his body. She felt his other hand bury itself in her hair, dislodging her pins and causing it to tumble around his fingers. She felt his soft lips rub against hers and she felt his tongue gently slide in and out of her mouth. She moaned when his teeth nibbled gently on her lower lip and she nearly felt her legs give out when his hand slid downward and gripped the curve of her butt. She almost groaned in frustration when he gently gave her one last nibbling kiss before pulling slightly away from her. She noticed that he was breathing just as hard as she was and his hand trembled slightly when he brushed her hair out of her face.

"Are you sure you want me to come in?", he whispered, one hand still in her hair and the other holding her waist.

Cuddy briefly entertained the notion of grabbing his tie and dragging him into her house, but she shook her head and took a shaky step back. She was mortified to find that she had to hold his arms still for support because her knees still felt like spaghetti. "Maybe it isn't such a good idea for you to come in", she admitted, reluctance clear in her voice.

Chase stepped close again, grabbed her under her elbows, and lifted her to her tiptoes to plant a brief but effective kiss on her lips. "Another time, then", he whispered against her lips before releasing her. This time, she grabbed the doorframe for support. He smiled at her then turned around to head back to his car.

"Robert!", she called before he got too far. He turned and looked at her, an eyebrow raised questioningly. "What are we going to do? About the job, about…this?"

Chase shrugged. "I'll come in tomorrow and fill out all of the paperwork. We can discuss my staff and the budget I'll have for my section. Give me a call tomorrow and let me know when you want me to come in."

Lisa sighed and massaged her temples. "And this…I don't know what to call it…"

"Attraction? Magnetism? Primal lust?", Chase supplied helpfully.

Cuddy nodded. "Yeah…all of that. We can't continue with that if you work for me. It won't work. It's impossible. We just have to ignore it."

Before she could evade him, Chase grabbed her again and gave her another mind-blowing kiss. She was gasping by the time he was finished. He murmured to her, "Be easier to ignore a tsunami."

He gave her bottom a playful pat and strolled to the car, whistling lightly. She stared at him as he unlocked the door and prepared to get in. Before he did, he called out to her, "Remember who I've been working with for the past three years, Lisa. House may be king, but _I _am the prince of the impossible. We'll make it work."

He gave her a wink, slipped into the car, started it, and backed out of the driveway. She watched him drive off, her mind still racing from the events of the night. She went into the house, closed and locked her door, and leaned against it, sighing loudly and groaning, "Oh, what have I done?" The empty house had no answers for her and she slid down to the floor and laid her head against her knees.


	5. Chapter 5 Surrender

Chapter 5 - Surrender

**Chapter 5 - Surrender**

The next morning, Chase walked into Cuddy's office with a lot more confidence than he had the previous day. He sat down in the chair in front of her desk and looked at her expectantly. "Good morning, Lisa. How are you today?" He smiled to her.

Cuddy looked at him without smiling and said, "Good morning, Dr. Chase. I'm glad you could make it to my office this morning. I have the paperwork here. I thought we could go over it and discuss any questions you might still have."

Chase leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers together. "So, we're back to Dr. Chase and Dr. Cuddy, are we? After all that effort I put into being friendly last night, too"

Cuddy stared him for a moment then opened the folder, acting as though he hadn't said anything. "These are the usual personnel forms. Actually, I believe we can eliminate much of this since we still have the information on file. Nothing has changed about your situation, has it? Change of marital status, address, things of that nature?"

Chase narrowed his eyes at her. "Actually, I've had four children and two wives since I filled out the last batch of paperwork. What, you didn't know?"

Cuddy's lip twitched and she fought to urge to smile. If she smiled now, it was all over. She handed other documents to Chase to read. "This is a copy of the job description. It details all of your responsibilities and this…" She pulled out another form. "This is your contract. Your salary and benefits are described here. If you would like to take all of this home to read it over, that's perfectly acceptable. Do you have any questions for me?"

Chase took the paperwork without even glancing at it and tossed the folder in his messenger bag on the floor. "Yes, actually. I have several questions. Is there an actual rule that prevents you from dating another doctor at this hospital? Would it get you fired? What color underwear are you wearing? Do they have lace on them? I'll bet they do. In fact, I'll bet you're wearing black lace. When does this job start? Will I have at least a week to convince you to go out with me again?"

Cuddy listened to the barrage of questions with wide eyes. She carefully put down her pen, folded her hands primly on top of the desk and answered, "No, it's more of a guideline instead of a rule. No, I wouldn't get fired, just very sternly reprimanded. None of your business. Again, none of your business. The job starts Monday. That gives you 5 days to convince me to go out with you again."

Chase grinned at her. "Good memory. I didn't expect you to actually answer them all. Five days, huh? Well, I have two tickets to a Broadway show on Saturday. It's actually a two day thing. See a play, eat at a restaurant, then stay overnight. I'm not trying to be presumptuous, but I think it would be fun to…"

"Okay", Cuddy interrupted.

Chase frowned. "Did you just say 'ok'?" She nodded. Chase continued to frown. "Just like that? 'Ok'? I don't have to beg or cajole or anything?"

Cuddy smiled softly. "Don't be so suspicious. Just take the yes and stop questioning it. Now, I have a meeting soon. Come over tonight and I'll fix you dinner. Seven o'clock. Bring wine." She stood up, signaling that it was time for him to go. Chase picked up his messenger bag, nodded goodbye, and left the office, feeling very confused as though he had somehow skipped a whole page of dialogue in his script.

Cuddy put a final spritz of perfume behind her ears as she checked her reflection in the mirror. She liked what she saw. The dress she wore was designed to make any man's eyes pop out and she had her hair loose and curled. She had a feeling Chase liked it that way. She shook her head at her reflection and asked herself for the thousandth time if she was sure she knew what the hell she was doing.

During the previous night, she had tossed and turned in her bed, reliving those amazing kisses over and over. By the time she had awakened and gotten herself ready for work, she had decided that she was going to end the thing with Chase immediately and never go out on anything even _resembling _a date with him again. She did not need the aggravation that it would cause if she dated a subordinate. And she didn't need the comments and smirks that would come with dating a much younger subordinate. And she sure as _hell _didn't need House interfering in her life any more than he already did. And she just knew that if one of his former staff members was involved with her, he would absolutely have to put his nose in it.

Her resolve lasted when she had her assistant call Chase in to complete paperwork. Her resolve never even wavered when she spoke to him briefly when he called to see if he needed to bring in the documentation of the extension of his H-1B work visa. When he walked into her office, called her "Lisa" and smiled that gorgeous smile at her, her resolve crumbled like week-old cookies. She tried to maintain a good professional front, but it was pretty difficult when she could see in his eyes that he was remembering the evening they had shared. She couldn't look at him without recalling how his lips felt against hers. So, Cuddy did what any reasonable woman would do in the same situation. She metaphorically threw up her hands in defeat and decided to seduce the hell out of one Robert Chase. Even if it did only last five days, she was going to enjoy every second of it. Lisa looked in the mirror and ran her hands down the smooth fabric of her dress. She looked hot and dressed for the kill. She would absolutely destroy him.

When Lisa opened the door for Robert at 6:59, he decided that she was trying to destroy him. She was wearing another skintight dress, this time a rich ruby red color. The dress had straps criss-crossing at many strategic locations and the hem stopped at mid-thigh. Her hair was loose and bouncy and flowed around her shoulders. She looked extremely hot and his mouth was watering before he even smelled the dinner she was cooking. She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and stepped back so he could enter. He walked in and handed her an adorable stuffed puppy with a big pink ribbon around it.

Lisa gasped. "Is this an Akita?" she asked excitedly. When they had shared stories from the childhood the previous evening, she had mentioned to him that when she was little, she always wanted a puppy and she had specifically wanted an Akita. Her parents hadn't gotten one for her and she had always regretted that she never had a dog. Lisa hugged the stuffed puppy close to her and was shocked to feel tears welling up behind her eyes. She had expected more flowers or something more traditional. But he had gotten her something meaningful. She sighed. "_What did he have to go and do _that _for?_", she thought. It made it harder to think of him as a disposable sex toy when he did sweet, thoughtful things like this. She sighed again and stood on tiptoe to give him another kiss, this time on the lips. She whispered, "Thank you" against his lips before turning to go back into the kitchen.

Robert smiled at the way Lisa was holding the toy. He was worried that she would find it too juvenile, but when he was walking past the toy store in the mall, the little Akita was in the display window and he had to get it. He followed Lisa into the kitchen with the bottle of wine he had brought in along with the stuffed animal. He breathed in deeply and grinned. Whatever she was cooking, it smelled like heaven.

Robert and Lisa talked and laughed all throughout dinner. Lisa wouldn't let him have dessert until the kitchen had been cleaned up a bit, so Robert helped to clear the dishes off of the table and loaded the dishwasher while Lisa cleaned the things that had to be washed by hand. After they were finished, Lisa pulled out the German chocolate cake she had bought from the local bakery and sliced a tiny piece for herself and a generous wedge for Robert. She had already noticed that he had a sweet tooth. They drank coffee and talked about some of House's crazier antics. She told him all about the "The Great Guitar Caper" that Wilson had pulled off. Robert laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes. Lisa could barely tell the whole story through her own laughter. After they had both calmed down, there was a silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

Robert was the first one to break the silence. "Well, I guess I'd better go. I know you have an early morning. And some crazy lady gave me a 2 foot tall packet of papers to read over today, so I guess I'd better get started."

Lisa replied, "Ha, ha" as she stood up to walk him to the door. She was debating whether or not she wanted to invite him to stay. She could feel the sexual tension buzzing between them and she was surprised (disappointed?) that he didn't act on it. He was so aggressive the previous night. She didn't mind taking the lead in situations like this, but for some reason she was hesitant to do so this time. Maybe his age was bothering her more than she thought, because she didn't want to feel like the wily older woman luring an innocent young man into her bed. She knew Robert was far from innocent, but she wasn't sure if he wasn't still out of his depth.

When she got to the front door, she had decided to let him go ahead and leave tonight. The seduction could wait until she was sure it was what they both wanted. She turned to give him a kiss goodnight, but he was way ahead of her. He slid his hands into her hair and covered her mouth with his own. She had to grab the front of his shirt for support since her legs had gone weak again. The kiss seemed to last an eternity. When he pulled away, Lisa felt as though her head were floating about a foot above her neck. She turned away from him and slowly reached out, unlocked the door, and opened it about two inches. Robert's hand came over her shoulder and held the door still, preventing her from opening it any further. He was standing right behind her and she could feel the heat from his body.

Robert leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Ask me to stay."

Lisa closed her eyes for a moment and felt him step closer to her so that his front was pressed to her back. She could feel him…all of him…against her and she trembled.

He whispered in her ear again, "Ask me to stay, Lisa."

Lisa thought of all of the potential ramifications of what she was contemplating. Then she lifted one hand back up and gently closed the door. She said softly, "Stay".


	6. Chapter 6 Someone's At The Door

CHAPTER 6 – SOMEONE'S AT THE DOOR

_**Warning: **__This chapter is sorta rated M. I actually toned it down a bit, so I don't really know if it's M or T. But it's definitely for adult eyes. And for those of you wanting smut, I don't know if this quite qualifies, but this is about as smutty as I get. Sigh…how boring it is to try to be a good girl…most of the time. (heh, heh, heh)_

_Oh, and I really appreciate the reviews and constructive criticism. I, too, think that Robert is a bit more forward in this story than we've seen him on the show, but I think he has the potential. He showed us this last season that he can stand up to House and even Cuddy, so I think if he has the right motivation (i.e. a sexy older woman) we might see a different side of him. Or not…who knows? But I think this Chase is way more fun! And sexy!! And hot!! And…. whew…pardon me while I go get some cold water! _

**CHAPTER 6 – SOMEONE'S AT THE DOOR**

Lisa locked the deadbolt with a soft click and sighed as Robert slid his arms around her waist. She was still pressed against his front and she could tell that he was just as aroused as she was. His lips began to softly kiss her neck as his hands stroked up and down her body. Lisa tilted her head to give him better access. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was still fighting this, screaming, "NOOO! He's too young! He works for youuuuu!!" She blocked out that annoying voice and focused on the erotic sensations that Robert was sending through her body. His left hand slid up and over her breasts, squeezing them and stroking the nipples between his fingers. She reached up and threaded her fingers through his hair as his right hand began to slide her dress up.

Lisa opened her mouth to suggest that they head towards the bedroom but she only managed to get out a moan as his busy fingers slid into her panties and began to stroke. Her knees grew weak as his fingers stroked her over and over. Her breathing grew quicker and came in gasps as her body trembled. She could feel him growing even harder as her butt ground against him. She moaned again, this time in disappointment as he removed his hand from her panties. She let out a soft, startled cry as he turned her around and pushed her up against the door. He went down on his knees and reached up with both hands to slide her black lace panties down her legs. She lifted each foot one at a time so he could remove the underwear completely.

Lisa expected Robert to stand back up and wrap her legs around his waist. She had always had a secret fantasy about being taken against a wall or some sort of vertical structure. It would give her a thrill to think that someone wanted her so badly he couldn't even wait to get to a bedroom. She was surprised when Robert remained on his knees and slowly, tantalizingly, slid her dress up to her waist. She looked down at him and saw him looking at her with an intensity that took her breath away.

He said to her, "Lisa, this is the point of no return. I'm not some temporary, disposable lover. I'm not going to let you pat me on my head and send me on my way in five days. I don't just want a few days with you. If we're going to step over this threshold, you'd damn well better be ready to fight for us to be together. Fight the board, fight people who don't think we should be together, House…and anyone else who might try to interfere. Stop me now if you're not willing to try to make this work."

Lisa didn't even hesitate. She had seen all that she needed to see in his eyes. She leaned down, caressed his face with her hands and kissed him gently on the lips. Robert smiled as the kiss ended and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in her abdomen. They stood like that for about a minute. Lisa started to stir restlessly when she felt his hands stroking her hips. He lifted his head from her stomach and slid her dress back up from where it had slipped down during the hug. He placed his left hand around her waist and slowly slid his right hand down the back of her left leg until he got to her knee. He pulled her leg up and over his shoulder so that she was open to him. He nibbled her inner thigh until her legs began to quiver. Then, he leaned forward and slid his tongue into her.

If Robert hadn't been holding her waist, Lisa would have slid to the floor in a gooey puddle. She nearly came just from that one touch of his tongue. But the intensivist wasn't even close to being finished with her. He tongue darted in and out of her in a slow, rhythmic motion. He alternated that with long slow strokes of his tongue. Lisa felt the temperature in the foyer go up about 30 degrees. Robert was practically supporting her whole weight – all she could do was hold on to his shoulders for balance.

Lisa felt the pressure building up inside of her and heard her breath coming in ragged gasps. She felt as if she were on the cusp of a huge explosion. Robert increased his tempo and she screamed as the orgasm rocked through her. Her hand reached back to grab the door handle and for a second she thought she'd actually rip the thing out of the door. The orgasm seemed to go on forever and Robert kept stroking her with his tongue, lapping at her sweetness until she thought she would pass out from pleasure.

Her body was still throbbing when Robert took her leg off of his shoulder and stood up, keeping his hands on her waist to support her. She reached forward and unbuckled his belt, unfastened the waistband of his pants and slid them down, dragging his underwear down, too. She felt almost frantic with wanting…no, needing…to feel him inside of her. She reached out and stroked her hand down his already erect shaft, causing him to inhale sharply. She pulled his head down toward her, capturing his mouth as she continued to stroke him. She could taste herself on his mouth – something she normally hated but this time, it was the most erotic thing she had ever experienced. The kiss became more desperate as she increased the rhythm of her stroking. Robert tore his mouth away from hers and said hoarsely, "Now! I need to be inside you now!" She put her arms around his neck as he lifted her up against the door.

Robert slid easily inside of her with one smooth motion and they both moaned at the sensation. She tightened her grip on him as he began to slide in and out of her. She thought it would be quick after the stimulation she had just given him, and she certainly didn't expect to have another orgasm. She usually only had one at a time, something that continually frustrated her. But as time passed, Robert showed no signs of finishing. And she felt that wonderful pressure began to build again and again. She was beginning to see one of the benefits of being with a younger man. He continued to stroke, sometimes slow and deep, sometimes faster. Sweat poured off of both of them as they continued to make love against the door in the foyer.

Robert increased his tempo and Lisa looked at his eyes as he pumped into her. She felt like she was about to explode, but she continued to look at him as if her life depended on it. She didn't close her eyes until the moment of her orgasm, when the world seemed to explode around her in a rainbow of colors. She felt Robert's orgasm pulse through her a second later. Robert tensed as the orgasm shuddered through him, then he slid his hands in her hair and kissed the breath out of her.

After the kiss ended, Lisa slowly slid her legs down so she could stand up. She was only mildly surprised when her legs gave out on her and Robert had to grab her to keep her from falling. He smiled as though he were thoroughly pleased with himself. Lisa supposed he had earned the right to be smug. He had completely devastated her and she had no strength left. He kicked his feet out of the legs of his pants and underwear and slipped his arms under her to sweep her off her feet.

"Which way is the bathroom?", he whispered in her ear. Lisa pointed and Robert headed in that direction. Lisa smiled as she thought about her newly renovated bathroom. The shower stall was enormous (with a molded bench inside of it that had a world of possibilities) and the brand new tub that was quite spacious – definitely big enough for two. She sighed happily and nuzzled his neck as he carried her into the bathroom.


	7. Chapter 7 A Peaceful Interlude

CHAPTER 7 – THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM – A peaceful little interlude

**CHAPTER 7 – THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM – A peaceful little interlude**

Lisa leaned back against Robert and sighed in contentment. She was lying between his legs in a very deep tub of water with bubbles up to her chin. It was their second attempt at getting clean. They initially tried the shower and wound up rolling around in the shower stall, on the floor, out in the hallway… Anyway, after all of that activity, they needed to get cleaned up again. Robert had suggested a bath. She had suggested the bubbles. Of course, Robert had protested vehemently, but of course, Lisa prevailed.

She reached up and ran her fingers through his damp hair. She heard something that sounded like a purr come from him, but other than that nothing. In fact, she wasn't sure he was still awake. His breathing seemed too deep and even for him to be awake. "Robert?", she whispered. When she got no response, she smirked. Apparently, she wore him out. The water was starting to lose its heat and her digits were getting pruny, so she poked his leg a bit to wake him up. "Robert", she called a bit louder than the last time. He mumbled something and his hand came up to cup her breast lightly. She smiled again then poked him a bit harder. "Robert!"

He sat upright from his slumped down position, looking around frantically. "Give me an amp of epi, stat!" he shouted, swinging his legs around as though he were hopping off of a bed. Since she was sitting between his legs, that maneuver didn't work too well. He wound up slipping, nearly taking Lisa with him. She grabbed the side of the tub and watched as Robert slid under the water. She pursed her lips at the wave of water that sloshed over the side and tried to make her face serious as Robert came sputtering to the surface.

"What the hell was that all about!", he said as he blew some of the bubbles out of his mouth.

Lisa shrugged and frowned at him. "I have no idea. I was sitting here minding my own business and you suddenly tried to drown me."

Robert's mouth formed an "O" of surprise and he stuttered, "I tried to….did I really…are you okay?"

Lisa maintained her stern look for about 5 seconds before she burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she nearly slipped under the water herself. When she had managed to calm down a bit, Robert was glaring at her. The effect was spoiled by the white, foamy cap on his head and the bubbles still on his face. He looked like a deranged Santa Claus. This thought made Lisa start laughing again. She continued laughing even after he got out huffily and started drying himself off. After he was dry, he wrapped one of the towels around his waist and stood looking at her with his hands on his hips. Lisa nearly lost it again when she realized he reminded her of James Wilson at his most disapproving.

She took the time to admire his lean but well muscled form before holding out a hand to him. "Help me out, will you?" Robert looked at her hand a moment and Lisa thought he actually wasn't going to help her. Then he reached out and pulled her up and out in one smooth motion. He grabbed another towel and started to dry her off briskly. After he was done, he wrapped the towel around her. She looked up at him and grinned before reaching up and wiping away a whole handful of suds that he had missed somehow on the back of his neck. She bit her lip when she felt actual giggles bubbling up.

Robert narrowed his eyes at her. "Lisa, I swear if you laugh at me again, I'll dump you right back in that tub. Headfirst."

Lisa reached her arms around him and hugged him, partly in self-defense and partly because he looked so cute with his pouty lips and frown. He only hesitated a second before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back. She mumbled into his chest, "I'm sorry I laughed at you."

Robert smiled over the top of her head. "No, you're not, but I forgive you anyway. Look, it's nearly 2 in the morning. Do you want me to…"

Lisa heard the hesitation in his voice and squeezed him tighter. "I want you to follow me into my bedroom and stay here with me all night" she said softly. He smiled and let her lead him into the bedroom and her very comfortable looking bed. He slipped on a pair of shorts he had in his messenger bag and watched Lisa put on a short, red satin baby doll nightgown. She slipped under the covers and held them up for him to climb in. He slid next to her and pulled her onto him, cradling her in his arms.

After a few moments of getting settled, he whispered, "Are you comfortable?"

Lisa smiled as she realized, "More comfortable than I can ever remember being."


	8. Chapter 8 It Was Only a Matter of Time

Hey, folks

_Hey, folks! I just want to thank everyone who reviewed for the last few chapters. As I mentioned before, I don't have the internet access that I usually have and sometimes I don't really have the chance to answer everyone. But your reviews are absolutely appreciated!! _

_I've almost run out of chapters that are already written and the chapter I'm currently working on (11 or 12…don't remember) is giving me problems. Sigh… I've never done a Chase/Cuddy, so if you have any interesting suggestions or requests, I'm wide open. I haven't hit a writer's block or anything, but I am curious to see what kind of things you guys may see or want to see in store for these two. There is something I want to do, but I don't want to be too cliché or anything…I dunno. Maybe my problem is too many ideas. We'll see. I think I'm going to try to watch House in Spanish tonight and see if I can get it. Kinda cheating since I've seen all of the episodes, but I think I deserve a handicap. Thanks for reading!!_

**CHAPTER 8 – IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME**

Lisa Cuddy walked through the hallways with a slight bounce to her step. She said good morning to everyone she passed and even smiled hello to House, who was talking to Wilson at the nurse's station in the clinic. House turned and watched her as she strode to her office. He asked Wilson, "So, who do you think it is?"

Wilson looked at House in confusion. "Who do I think _who _is?"

House shook his head at his slow friend. "The guy who conquered Mt. Cuddy. Who do you think it is? Has she been trying to hit up any young, studly donors lately?"

Wilson gave him an incredulous look. "All she said was 'hello' and you think she had sex last night? Don't you think that's a bit of a leap, even for you?"

House held up his hand so he could tick off points. "Ok, one – she hasn't had coffee yet and she smiled at everyone on the way to the office."

Wilson interrupted. "Maybe she had coffee at home or on the way in."

House waved that off. "Two – she smiled at me and I haven't even nearly killed then saved someone this week. I haven't even figured out that stupid stomach bug."

Wilson smirked. "Maybe _that's _why she smiled at you – you've been so busy with the stomach thing that you haven't asked her permission for any crazy procedures or weird diagnostic tests."

House paused, ready to deliver the pièce de résistance. "Okay, then explain three. I haven't done any clinic hours this week and we're still short-staffed because of the stomach flu. I'm standing here gossiping with you and irritating the nursing staff. But she didn't tell _either_ one of us to get into the clinic."

Wilson frowned as he thought about it. "Okay, that is weird. Maybe she's just in a good mood. It has been known to happen."

House narrowed his eyes as he made his way towards Cuddy's office. "There's only one thing I know of that can tame that particular she-devil", he muttered.

House walked past Cuddy's assistant and opened her door. She was on the phone, talking to someone in a low voice with a smile on her face. The smile faded a bit when she saw him standing there. She moved the phone slightly away from her mouth and said, "What do you want, House?"

House raised an eyebrow and walked over to the desk. He pulled the phone away from her ear and said, "Hello, Dr. House here. Dr. Cuddy seems to have had some sort of attack. Did you just give her any bad news or anything that might have sparked this episode?" House stood back from the desk and out of Cuddy's reach. He listened, then frowned as he handed the phone back to her. "Hmm, he must not care about you at all. He hung up."

Cuddy snatched the phone from him and slammed it into the cradle. "Maybe he…or she…can recognize an idiot when they hear one."

House leaned against the corner of her desk. "Or maybe _he _is someone that I know and neither of you want me to know that you're being naughty little monkeys. Nice, subtle way to let him know I'm in the room, by the way. Is he the one who put that bounce in your step and the wiggle in your walk?"

Cuddy looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Did you come in here for a reason or did you just want to disrupt my phone call…" Cuddy's eyes shot to her phone when it rang again. She reached over quickly and snatched it up before House could get it. "Hello." Cuddy paused to listen for a few moments before smiling slightly and saying, "Ah, yes. Dr. Chase. Thank you so much for returning my call. Have you given any thought to what we discussed?" She paused again and then pursed her lips, looking furtively at House. "No…I thought I'd mentioned that. You wouldn't be under his supervision anymore…House!" Cuddy glared as House snatched the phone from her again and put the receiver up to his ear.

"Well, Skippy – I'm crushed that you don't want to work with me." House's look became gleeful as he listened to his former employee yell at him to give the phone back to Dr. Cuddy. He grinned and moved out of Cuddy's reach when she tried to grab the phone back. "So, what kind of incentives did Cuddles offer you to entice you back? Did she offer you more money? A nice office? An ergonomically sound chair? All the pens you desire so you can chew on them?"

On the other side of the phone, Robert smiled at how neatly House had fallen into the trap. Lisa had said exactly what he told her to say when she answered her phone. She had sounded extremely convincing, too. He had to play this one carefully or else House would figure everything out. He answered House's barrage of questions. "She offered me something that you've never bothered giving me. Respect for my abilities and a chance to be a leader."

House sneered into the phone. "She offered you the second diagnostics team? You know that she offered it to Foreman first. You're her second choice, actually. Do you really think you're ready to run your own team? You couldn't even stand up to your own team members and tell them to go to hell when they would make comments about your father. How are you going to handle subordinates questioning you or arguing with you? Are you going to sulk and flip your hair?"

Robert barely refrained from poking out his lip in a pout. Although the comments were laced with sarcasm, he knew that they, like most of House's comments, had some truth in them. He felt a sliver of doubt creep into his heart. "_Why _hadn't _he told Foreman and Cameron to get stuffed? Why did he let people walk all over him_?", he thought. Then he let his mind drift to some of House's reports that Lisa had shown him. Although they weren't overflowing with compliments, they did make it seem as though House thought he had done a good job, especially during the last 6 months or so of his residency. And although he no longer sought House's approval, he couldn't help but appreciate it when he got it. And House's approval meant that he knew his job. And he didn't think House would have fired him if he wasn't ready to leave the nest.

House listened to the silence on the other end of the phone. He was surprised that he felt somewhat disappointed. Apparently Chase _still _didn't have any confidence in himself. He was about to hand the phone to Cuddy when he heard Chase's voice.

"You know what, House? I'm sure I have a lot to learn and I may make a lot of mistakes. But one thing I do know. I'm not going to coddle my team, but I sure as hell am not going to go out of my way to make them feel stupid or worthless. Maybe you think that method works. Maybe it does work, for you. But you have to be one serious bastard to treat people, even the people you're supposedly friends with, like something you scrape off the bottom of your shoe. I don't have it in me to treat others that way. You'll see that as weak, but that's going to be my strength. My team will learn from me, but they won't despise me, hate me, or be tempted to turn on me."

"Oh, you mean like you did?", House interrupted angrily. "Is that what I had to do to keep you from turning traitor on me? Hold your hand, pat you on the back, be your best friend?"

Cuddy, who had been listening to House's side of the conversation with increasing concern, pushed the button on the speakerphone just in time to hear Chase shoot back, "Apparently, even being your best friend doesn't stop people from wanting to turn on you! What _exactly _does that say about you?"

Cuddy gasped and looked at House in horror, waiting for him to unleash some devastating rejoinder on Chase. She was surprised when, after a brief moment of shock, House's expression relaxed into one of amusement and, if she wasn't mistaken, pride. House placed the receiver back on the cradle and sat on the corner of the desk, leaning slightly toward the speakerphone. "So…", House said softly, "The wombat has discovered he has claws after all. I'm impressed. That last swipe…it was a good one. On anyone else, you might have drawn blood."

Chase let out the breath he had been holding. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn and had apparently uncovered some anger he didn't even know he still harbored against House. The allusion to Wilson's betrayal, even though Chase didn't really think of it that way, was kind of low and he really felt like apologizing. He was smart enough, though, to realize that he would lose any ground he had gained if he told House he was sorry. He was also smart enough to realize that he had actually hit a nerve even though House was acting nonchalant. Chase decided to lighten things up a bit. "Did I at least leave a bruise? I think I owe you one."

House snorted. "Don't push it, Skippy. Cuddy's giving me evil looks now, so I think she wants to talk to you some more about the job. Don't settle for less than twice your former pitiful salary and hold out for reduced clinic duty hours."

Chase was astounded at the almost friendly advice House had just given him. He decided to accept the olive branch, intended or otherwise. "Dr. House, I look forward to once again being your colleague."

House got up from the desk and snorted. "Chase, we were never colleagues. I was the master and you were one of my minions. Don't go getting delusions of grandeur, here." House limped out the door without another backwards glance.

Lisa picked up the receiver and turned the speakerphone off. "Robert? That was…I can't believe what you said to him! And he let you get away with it! Whatever possessed you to say something like that?" Lisa was part angry, part shocked, and part impressed with what Robert had said.

Robert chuckled. "I guess I just got angry. I'm tired of having the Vogler thing thrown in my face over and over again. I made a mistake 3 years ago. I think its time to let it go. Now…what were we talking about before House interrupted?"

Lisa smiled and leaned back in her chair before answering, "I believe you were telling me about our plans for the evening."

Robert's laugh on the other end of the phone made her smile even wider. "Um, no, I don't think that's quite right, Lisa. I _think _you were trying to bribe me into telling you our plans for the evening because I told you it was a surprise. I believe you were mentioning something about a sheer lace teddy or something like that. Shame on you for using your womanly wiles to try to get me to divulge secrets."

Lisa continued to flirt with Robert, enjoying the rare peaceful interlude at work, not noticing the figure standing outside her office gazing through the glass with thoughtful expression on his face and a knowing smirk on his lips.


	9. Chapter 9 Playing House

Hey, folks

_Hey, folks. I'm gonna be posting every other day now instead of every day. I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Thanks for the reviews and the ideas! _

**CHAPTER 9 – PLAYING HOUSE**

Robert and Lisa were stretched out on the sofa in her den after dinner, watching _The Queen_. They had discussed whether or not to go to her house or his house. They had stopped at his place to get the movie and she had looked around once, shaken her head at him, and turned around to go back out to the car. His place was very Spartan and his television was nearly as old as he was. So they both decided that her place was going to be the hangout spot…at least until he finally got around to buying more furniture…getting more than two place settings…buying more towels…getting another chair (and a table, for that matter). He told her he hardly ever seemed to spend any time at home, so it didn't make sense to worry about furnishing the place or decorating.

They were debating whether or not Prince Phillip was as jerky in real life as the movie made him out to be when they were both startled by a loud knocking at the door. They both recognized the sound of wood hitting wood and Lisa smiled at him in admiration. "Good call on putting your car in the garage. How'd you know he would show up here tonight?"

Chase shrugged. "How long have you known House? He's like a dog with a big juicy bone, and right now your love life is that bone. He's not going to let it go until he's satisfied."

Lisa winced as the pounding got louder. "That man better not be leaving marks on my door", she muttered, frowning in the direction of the door. Her frown turned into a dreamy sigh as she remembered exactly what had happened against that very same door the night before.

Apparently Robert's thoughts were running in the same direction because he whispered in her ear, "Well, we can always do an encore of last night. Your screaming might drown out the sound of his banging."

Lisa swatted his arm and tried not to think of how tempting that would be. She could just imagine the look on House's face if he heard the moans and thumping against the door. She giggled a bit at the thought, looked at Robert, and started laughing hysterically. He laughed too, but in a much quieter voice, just in case House could hear through the door.

After they both settled down, Lisa picked up her cell phone and called House. She was somewhat surprised when he answered on the first ring, saying, "I have a patient emergency…open up."

She frowned at the sound of his phone disconnecting and she glanced towards the door where the banging had stopped. She bit her lip and looked at Robert. "He sounded so serious. Maybe it is a real emergency. It wouldn't be the first time he's come here with an actual medical issue."

Chase put his hand on her arm when she looked as though she were standing up. "Don't buy it, Lisa. He's playing you. Trust me…he knows someone is in here and he wants to know who it is."

Lisa continued to bite her lip as the banging started again, stopping only when Robert gently stroked his thumb over her lip. She hated being indecisive, but with House, there was no telling when he was putting on the "serious doctor" face or when he was just being his usual, pain-in-the-rear self. She smiled slowly as she thought of a way out of her dilemma. As she scrolled through the address book in her phone, she asked Robert, "Did I tell you about my new neighbor that changed my flat tire a few days ago?"

House let out a sigh and looked at his watch. He had been banging on the door for the past 20 minutes and yelling "Cuddy!" at the top of his lungs for the past 5 minutes. He thought she would have at least come to the door by now but she was being unusually stubborn. No doubt the man in there with her was convincing her to ignore him. He began to have doubts about the suspicions that had popped into his head when he watched Cuddy talk to Chase on the phone. She hadn't looked like she was talking about a job offer. She had that smile on her face that he'd seen her use when she was flirting. But no way Chase, of all people, could handle Cuddy, much less influence her interactions with House. "_Little weasel couldn't even handle a lightweight like Cameron_", he thought. Then he remembered their discussion on the phone that morning. Chase did actually have more cajones than most people, including House, gave him credit for. And that comment Chase had made about Wilson's betrayal…what bothered him the most about it was not just the truth in what he said but the fact that it actually bothered him. And what was worse, House had a feeling Chase _knew _it bothered him. He frowned at the door and muttered, "If that smug, cocky bastard is in there right now, maybe I'll knock him once in the head with this cane, just on general principal." House raised his cane to start banging on the door again when he felt it being yanked out of his hand.

House spun around, almost knocking himself off balance. He was almost blinded by the light that was suddenly shining at him from a flashlight. He could barely make out a figure…not quite as tall as he was but tall enough, with a bit more bulk to back it up. The voice belonging to the figure spoke, "Is there something I can help you with, sir?"

House pulled on his cane, a bit disgruntled when he was unable to retrieve it from the man's grasp. "Yeah, you can start by getting that spotlight off of me, then return my cane before I fall on my ss and I have to sue you."

The figure turned off the flashlight and stepped further into the glow coming from the light over the door. House saw a man in his early forties with short, sandy-brown hair, hazel eyes, a sweatshirt that had "Columbia" printed on the front and worn blue jeans. The man didn't return House's cane, though, and stared at the older man intensely. House glared back and snarled at the man, "What are you, a member of the neighborhood watch?"

The man smiled slightly. "Something like that. I'm Dr. Cuddy's neighbor from across the street. Lieutenant Sampson Hill, from the Plainsboro Police Department. Someone in the neighborhood called me and said there was a strange man banging on Dr. Cuddy's door. This person didn't want to make a big deal out of it by officially calling the police, so she called me instead to run over and check it out. We're all very fond of Dr. Cuddy here, and we want to make sure she's safe. Who are you…and more importantly, why are you disturbing the peace?"

House bit back the sarcastic comment that popped in his head. The last thing he needed was another problem with an overzealous cop. He tried to look concerned as he said, "Well, Officer…"

"Lieutenant", Sampson corrected.

House barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "Okay, _Lieutenant_. I'm Dr. Greg House and I needed Dr. Cuddy to deal with a medical emergency at the hospital. She wasn't answering her phone, so I decided to zip over here and talk to her in person."

Sam smiled at him. "Oh, well if it's an _emergency_, then I'm sure Dr. Cuddy will come to the door." The lieutenant leaned over and knocked on the door, calling out, "Dr. Cuddy? It's Sam, from across the street." House's eyes narrowed when the door opened to reveal Cuddy.

Lisa looked back and forth between Sam and House in confusion. "Sam, what are you doing here? Oh, no…did this idiot's banging bother you? I'm sorry. He's one of my employees and he has an annoying habit of bothering me unnecessarily outside of work hours. I just assumed this was one of those times and decided to ignore him. It didn't occur to me that he would disturb my neighbors. I really am sorry. He can be a real pain in the…"

House interrupted her. "_He _is standing right here, Cuddy. How can you ignore a phone call from a doctor at your hospital?"

Lisa folded her arms and glared at him, even though she felt like laughing. His eyes were totally drifting behind her to try to see into the house. She made sure to take up as much of the doorway as possible, even though she knew Robert was well out of sight. "When it's you, it's very easy to ignore a call."

Sampson cleared his throat. "Dr. House, maybe you should tell Dr. Cuddy the emergency."

House looked at him blankly for a second then recovered quickly. "Right…well…I think I might have a bead on this stomach virus thing, but I need to run some tests that you need to authorize. I wasn't sure how far I could go to work on this thing and I didn't want to overstep my boundaries."

Lisa stared at House as if he'd lost his mind. "You didn't want to...wait, I'm sorry. I need to get a recording of this. You, Dr. Gregory House, didn't want to overstep his _boundaries_? Since when do you know the meaning of the word? What tests, exactly, do you want to run?"

House told her the names of a few outrageous tests that he actually had already performed to try to get to the bottom of the stomach bug. Lisa looked at him and shook her head. "House, this was not worth a trip out here and it certainly doesn't qualify as an emergency. Run your tests tomorrow. Whittle down your crop of perspective employees so you can have some staff to do these menial tasks for you. In the meantime, go home. Go bother Wilson. Go to a strip club. Go bowling. Whatever rocks your boat, I don't care. But…and this is the important part…GO!"

Lieutenant Sampson handed House back his cane. "Well, looks like you won't need to come back here tonight. Or any other night, really. This is Dr. Cuddy's home. Show some respect for her privacy. And definitely show some respect for the people that live in this neighborhood. It would be a shame for a fine doctor like yourself to get locked up for something so petty."

House snatched his cane away and went down the steps, muttering, "It wouldn't be the first time."

After House had gotten back on his motorcycle and ridden away, Sam chuckled and gave Lisa a high five. "That was fun. You can call me anytime if he shows up here again, okay, Lisa?"

Lisa grinned. "He'll probably be back tomorrow morning to try to catch Robert leaving. We have it covered, though. Thanks again for your help. It's not often I get to pull a fast one on House." Sam gave a salute and jogged back across the street to his house.

Lisa shut the door and leaned on it. Her eyes met Robert's across the room and they both burst out into wild laughter. In between laughs, she described House's facial expressions during the whole encounter. Chase went over and pulled Lisa up from off the floor where she had been literally rolling on the floor laughing. He put his arms around her and kissed her still smiling lips softly. "You, madam, are a devious and clever woman. Remind me to never get on your bad side." Lisa tilted her head up for another kiss then shrieked when Robert tossed her over his shoulder and headed towards the bedroom where they spent the rest of the night not thinking about Greg House at all.


	10. Chapter 10 Facing Reality

Hóla, friends

_Hóla, friends!! Sorry this chapter is so short, but the next one is fairly long to make up for it. Thanks again for all of the reviews! And remember, suggestions are always appreciated. The final destination of this story is pretty much in my head, but I have a lot of leeway with how the journey goes. If someone suggests something that is interesting or triggers a wayward plot bunny, I have no problem with drifting off course a bit. As long as it's fun!! _

**CHAPTER 10 – FACING REALITY**

Lisa managed to avoid House for nearly the entire day on Friday. She made absolutely no attempt to hunt him down for clinic duty or nag him about interviewing candidates for the fellowship. She figured that the more House stayed away from her, the least likely he was to find out about her and Robert. She did do periodic checks to make sure he was in the building and not at her house peering through windows. She had called Robert when she saw House walk through the lobby that morning (50 minutes late, but she didn't call him on that, either) so that he could get out of the house if he wanted to. Robert was still asleep when she called, so she doubted he left the house then. He had muttered something that sounded like, "…'ck House. Don't care what he thinks. Bye, love" before hanging up the phone. She had stared bemusedly at the phone for a few seconds before shaking her head and chuckling. Robert Chase was highly amusing when sleepy.

Lisa stayed fairly busy up until 4:30 when Dr. Baumgardener, one of the senior board members, came into her office. She smiled at him and stood up to greet him. "Hello, Howard. How are you today?"

Dr. Baumgardener harrumphed at her and sat down in the chair in front of her desk, glaring at her from under his bushy, gray eyebrows. "Well, I'm fine. I have to admit, I'm a bit disturbed by some of the rumors I heard floating around here today."

Lisa frowned at him and asked, "Rumors?" She had been mostly hiding in her office all day and hadn't heard anything.

Dr. Baumgardener leaned forward and told her, "There some scuttlebutt going around about you having some sort of wild love affair with another doctor. Now, there is always nonsense and speculation going on about you and Dr. House, and I'm still not convinced it's all bogus…", Baumgardener held up his hand to stop Lisa, who had opened her mouth to comment. "Wait a minute, young lady. I think your attachment to that insane man is unnatural, but I can't deny that he's brilliant and he does bring donations and build the hospital's reputation. I don't really care to know anything about any torrid college affair you two may have had. But these rumors that I've heard today don't involve Dr. House. At least…he's not your paramour this time. I wouldn't be surprised if he started the rumor, though."

Lisa leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes and sighing. "Do I even want to know what these rumors are about? Or maybe I should say, WHO the rumors are about?"

Dr. Baumgardener sat back in the chair, folded his hands on his stomach, and raised an eyebrow at her. "Why don't you tell _me_ who this mystery doctor is?"

Lisa sighed again. She should have known House wouldn't let it go. She debated for about 2 seconds before deciding to come clean. She told Howard the whole story (minus the against-the-door action), being sure to stress the fact that she had not even considered dating Chase until after the job had been offered. And she also pointed out that Chase had not yet signed his contract, so technically he wasn't an employee. Baumgardener listened to the whole story, frowning at some points, shaking his head at others.

When she was done, he sighed and said, "Lisa…"

Lisa held up a hand to stave off the criticism. "Look, Howard – I didn't plan this. I didn't even want this. And I _really _didn't want this with Robert Chase. But…he's different."

Baumgardener snorted. "He's a child." Lisa thought about what the _child _had done to her the previous night and smiled slightly at the memory.

Dr. Baumgardener saw the smile and harrumphed again. He scowled at her again. "I'm sure I don't want to know what that little smile is for, young lady. Don't think I'm not aware of a few gaps in your story."

Lisa squirmed a bit in her chair. Although she was in charge of the whole hospital, Howard Baumgardener was one of few people who could still make her feel like a high school student. She straightened in her seat and looked him in the eye. "Look, Howard. I can end this now, before Dr. Chase is employed here again…but the attraction isn't going to just go away. Nor are the rumors going to stop. So what do you recommend that I do? Would you like me to step down as hospital administrator and dean?" Lisa couldn't believe what had just come out of her mouth. Did she actually just offer to throw away the job that she'd worked so hard to get, and keep, for a man? A man nine years her junior? She held her breath and waited to see what Dr. Baumgardener's verdict would be.

The older doctor leaned back in his chair and stroked his neatly trimmed beard. He liked Lisa Cuddy – not that he would ever truly admit it – and he thought she did an admirable job. With the possible exception of her dealings with Dr. House, her behavior and performance had been pretty much above reproach and her ability to bring in donors was unequaled in the history of the hospital. He would hate to see all of that get thrown away because of some fling. He thought for a few minutes more then leaned forward. "Lisa, we're going to take a page from Dr. House's book of hiring employees." Lisa's eyes widened then she began to smile as the crafty older man explained his recommended course of action.


	11. Chapter 11 Let The Games Begin

I always have trouble writing House

_I always have trouble writing House. I think I make him too low key or something. But it is what it is. This is why I don't write stories where House is the main character. And I don't really love this chapter, but it's a necessary evil. Kind of like homework. Thanks again for the reviews!! _

**CHAPTER 11 – LET THE GAMES BEGIN**

"You want me to do WHAT?" House looked at Cuddy incredulously. He was too surprised to even muster up something sarcastic to say.

Cuddy refrained from sighing. She knew that House had heard and understood every word she said, but she decided to play along. After all, his cooperation was a big part of Dr. Baumgardener's plan.

"I want you to help me find a suitable candidate to run the second diagnostic team", Cuddy repeated with only a hint of annoyance. "Just let me use one of your old cases…one from five or more years ago."

House leaned back in his chair and frowned at her. "What happened to Chase? I thought he was all over this job."

Cuddy shrugged. "The board wanted to be sure that we were getting the very best candidate for the job. After all, the diagnostics department here at Princeton-Plainsboro has been building a reputation and we want to make sure it continues to grow. And for that, we need to have the right person for the job."

House quirked an eyebrow at her. "And suddenly, Skippy isn't the right one for the job?"

Cuddy continued to look him in the eye when she told him the lie, but it was difficult. "Well, we all decided that taking on the responsibility of a whole team is a big responsibility, so we want to give other candidates, as well as Dr. Chase, a chance to prove their mettle."

House smirked. "Are you sure this sudden decision doesn't have anything to do with the rumors I've been hearing about how Cuddy got her groove back Down Under?"

Her temper flaring, Cuddy snapped, "And you wouldn't happen to know anything about those rumors, now would you, House? It's bad enough that you spread lies about me sleeping with _you_, but now you're involving another doctor in your stupid games…" She stopped as House held up his hands.

"Whoa, Sheriff! I didn't start anything…this time. You might want to ask your friendly, neighborhood oncologist about his source, because I heard the sordid story from him. And we all know that good ole' Jimmy wouldn't go around making up stories about his boss, now would he?" House picked up his large red ball and started tossing it nonchalantly up into the air as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Cuddy narrowed her eyes at him, then reached over to his phone and punched in some numbers. When she heard the voice on the other end, she said tersely, "House's office. Now!" then hung up the phone. She glared at House, who had whistled low under his breath. He looked back at her with wide innocent eyes, and meekly went back to tossing the ball in the air. Cuddy wasn't buying it for a second and she tapped her foot impatiently while she waited for James Wilson.

Wilson came hustling through the door a scant 10 seconds later. He looked slightly flustered and he turned to glare at House after he all but skidded to a stop in front of Cuddy. "What godawful thing have you gotten me involved with now?" Wilson demanded, hands on his hips.

Cuddy had to fight to keep from smiling as she remembered Robert taking that very same stance with bubbles clinging to the back of his neck. She turned her attention to Wilson and asked him, "Did you tell House that there was something going on between Dr. Chase and me?"

Wilson flushed bright red and stammered, "I…it didn't…well…" Wilson looked somewhat frantically at House, who shrugged at him. Wilson glared at him and looked back at Cuddy helplessly.

She decided to have pity on him. "I know you didn't start the rumor, Wilson. But I want to know exactly what you told House AND I want to know where you heard this madness."

Wilson bit his lip and wouldn't meet her eyes. "Well…I heard that you and Chase went out together to a restaurant…an expensive restaurant…and had dinner. That's it. That's all I told House." He continued to look everywhere but at Cuddy.

Cuddy looked at Wilson, willing him to look at her so she could pin him with the stare of death. On James Wilson, it was more effective than Wonder Woman's Lariat of Truth. He refused to meet her gaze and seemed greatly relieved when his pager went off. Cuddy glanced sharply at House, who had one hand in his jacket pocket. His blue-eyed gazed widened to one of pure innocence again. Cuddy frowned at him, then looked at Wilson, who was edging towards the door.

Wilson said quickly, "Gotta go. There's a problem with Mrs….um…Mrs. Jenkins. I'll be back later." Wilson all but ran from the room.

Cuddy didn't even bother trying to stop him, nor did she confiscate House's phone, which she was sure would show an extremely recent call to Wilson's pager. She was too busy thinking about what Wilson had told her. A simple dinner date was very different from "a wild love affair", as Dr. Baumgardener had said. And the only person besides herself and Robert who knew about the dinner date was her assistant, Melissa. Lahiere's Restaurant was small enough that, from where she and Robert had been seated, she would have seen another staff member from the hospital. It had to have been Melissa. She practically swooned every time Wilson came to her office. "That traitorous little…"

Cuddy's thoughts were interrupted by a ping pong ball bouncing off of her head. She caught it automatically and turned to glare at her adolescent department head. House held up his hands so she could throw the ball back to him. She briefly contemplated trying to make him eat it, but decided that he would enjoy the struggle too much. She tossed the ball into the furthest corner from House, who muttered, "Nice!" She walked around his desk to stand in front of him and leaned over. She grabbed his chin with one hand and tilted it up so that his eyes had to look into hers instead of down her blouse, where they were headed.

"So you took an innocent business dinner date and turned it into some torrid affair? Did it ever occur to you that some members of the board, who are _always _looking for something to trip me up, might hear your little fairy tale that you cooked up?"

House gave a dismissive snort. "None of those old fogies pay attention to any of the gossip that goes on around…" He was cut off by Cuddy's raised voice.

"I had a visit from Dr. Baumgardener this morning! He wanted to know why I'm seducing young doctors then giving them jobs!! He wants to convene a board meeting to discuss the "situation". I wasn't even aware that there was a situation! You seem to do your level best, House, to do things that will get me kicked out of this hospital. Do you honestly think anyone else, anyone in this _world_, would put up with your crap? We both know the answer to that. I've had calls from people that Foreman's been talking to wanting reassurance that he was _nothing _like you!"

Cuddy took a deep breath and leaned back, letting go of House's face. He looked somewhat chagrined…at least as chagrined as House ever let himself be. Cuddy continued, "Dr. Baumgardener doesn't actually want to, and I quote, 'Go through the trouble of breaking in another administrator', so he suggested that we open the opportunity up to qualified staff…" House snorted derisively, which Cuddy ignored, "…who want to apply for the position. We will have a group interview of sorts, similar to the madness that you've started with your 50 candidates. Each candidate will have their own small team of doctors and they will have to solve the case. They will all be working on the same case…."

House interrupted, "And the first team leader to solve the case gets the job? Me likey!"

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Not quite that simple. Just solving the case isn't good enough. We want to see how they all go about solving it. How they think. What types of things they try. Just solving it doesn't necessarily get the candidate the job. Sometimes cases are solved with a lucky guess." Cuddy quirked an eyebrow at House.

House looked affronted. "I never make lucky guesses", he said in an offended voice.

Cuddy looked skeptical. "Riiight. Anyway, House, I need a case from you. An old case…a challenging one. Something that Chase wouldn't have seen when he came to work for you and cleaned up your files. I want this to be fair and I don't want anyone to think Chase has a fair advantage."

This time House rolled his eyes. "And working for me for four years isn't an advantage? And I thought you were calling him 'Robert' now."

Cuddy ignored him. She still hadn't told him what she _really _needed from him. She had a feeling he was either going to balk at it or be fiendishly thrilled with it. She didn't love either of those two choices, but she was prepared for both. She stifled a sigh and looked at House who was looking at her expectantly, like he knew she had something else to say.

"House, I don't just want an old case from you. I also need your help in the diagnosing abilities of the candidates. You often see things in people that others don't see, which is one of the things that makes you a good, if evil and sadistic, teacher. I never would have thought you could have created the team you did, but Foreman, Cameron, and Chase balanced each other surprisingly well. I want this second diagnostics team to be that good…maybe even better."

House leaned back in his chair and considered Cuddy's request. She could make it a demand, but he knew as well as she did that if he was forced to do something he didn't want to do, he could very well put a kibosh into the whole thing before it even got off the ground. He just didn't see how it benefited him in any way. In fact, it seemed like it would mean a whole lot of work for him. He was about to refuse when Cuddy pulled out her ace in the hole.

"Since you'll be so busy with hiring your new team and helping to find someone to run the second team, you will, of course, be excused from clinic duty for two months." Cuddy looked at him with a small smile of victory.

House had to hand it to her. She knew how to find the sweet spot. He smiled evilly and told her, "I have just the case."


	12. Chapter 12 Trouble In Paradise

CHAPTER 12 – TROUBLE IN PARADISE

**CHAPTER 12 – TROUBLE IN PARADISE**

"You want me to do WHAT?!" Robert asked her in an incredulous voice, his eyes wide.

Lisa sat back on the sofa and marveled at the similarity between Robert's response and House's. She had anticipated Robert being a bit upset by her news, but he looked…well, to be honest, he looked shocked and angry. Very angry. As in, turning a strange shade of red, angry. She reached out to touch his arm and was a bit surprised when he pulled away. She tried to explain it to him again.

"Look, Robert…it's really no big deal. You just have to show the board that you are the best choice for the job. I already know that you are, but we just want to make sure that no one cries "favoritism" or anything when you get the job. I think that it's the best way…" She trailed off when Robert stood up and started to pace.

"So let me get this straight. The job that you already offered me…the one that I spent all morning filling out the paperwork for and reading about…the one that I've already started looking at potential team members for…THAT job…that's the one that I have to now 'try out' for? Is that what you're telling me?" Robert stopped pacing and glared at Lisa.

Lisa began to feel annoyance creep in. "Well…yes…if you want to put it that way…"

Robert interrupted her again. "What other way is there to put it? That is _exactly _what you're telling me!! Let me guess why the board is suddenly all concerned about favoritism. I take it there've been rumors about you and me running rampant at the hospital, right? Do I even need to ask who we have to thank for that? That limping bastard!"

Lisa started again. "Well, actually, Melissa is the one who told Wilson about the business dinner and it escalated from there…" Lisa glared at the intensivist when he cut her off yet again.

"Don't defend him! Don't you dare defend him! The board members wouldn't get all bent out of shape over a business dinner. I'll bet that ass twisted everything around until it was some twisted version of one of his sick fantasies. I am SO tired of his interference in my life!!" Robert stopped pacing and stood, his fists clenching and unclenching.

Lisa decided that it was safe for her to talk. "Look, Robert. This is the best way. This way, we never have to worry about anyone thinking you got this job for any reason other that your skill as a diagnostician. I'm pretty sure House wasn't aware of how quickly this would get to the board or how seriously they would take it. It was…"

She stopped as Robert rolled his eyes and muttered as he turned away from her, "Of course…here we go…"

Lisa grabbed his arm and turned him around. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

Robert looked at her with one eyebrow raised and folded his arms. "Oh…nothing. Go ahead and continue to defend that sociopath's actions. Go ahead and excuse him, as you always do. Let him walk all over you, as he always does. Rearrange the universe to suit his stupid whims, because, after all, he IS Gregory House, master puppeteer. And you, luv, are his favorite marionette."

Lisa took a step back as if she'd been struck. They stood there staring at each other for a few endless seconds before Lisa said quietly, "I think you need to leave."

Robert looked at her for a few seconds more then nodded slowly. He went to the sofa and picked up his messenger bag. He walked toward the door, and stopped before opening it. He didn't turn around when he said, "Lisa…I'm sorry. I…I've always hated the way he treated you. The lack of respect. The way you seem to give in to him when you don't have to. You are his boss, but he seems to control everything. You are such a force to be reckoned with…a strong, powerful, intelligent, extraordinarily sexy woman. But around House, you seem…less than that somehow."

Robert turned around and walked back to where Lisa was standing with her back to him. He reached out to touch her shoulders and flinched when she tensed at his touch. He dropped his hands at his sides. "Lisa, I promise you, I'm not saying these things to try to hurt you. I just get so…sick of _him_. He has ridiculed me, made me feel like an idiot, _called _me an idiot, lied to me, kept critical information from me, punched me, fired me… And I, like an idiot, still thought that he cared about me and that he was like the father I never really had."

Robert smiled wryly as Lisa turned around and looked at him. He continued, "I don't know why he has to make everyone's lives miserable. After you told me about his personal case notes, I actually thought he wanted me to take this job and that he finally had some respect for me. But he's still playing the same stupid games and doesn't care who he hurts. And you…and I…deserve better than that. We can't let him control this like he controls everything else…like he controls you."

Lisa, who had been starting to soften up towards him, took an angry step back. "He is NOT controlling me. This idea of Dr. Baumgardener's is a way to control the current situation!"

Robert nodded. "Ah…so I'm a 'situation' now?" He made quotation marks in the air. "So you discussed the 'situation' with Dr. Baumgardener? Did you tell him about the situation against the door? Or the situation in the bathtub? What about the situation when I had my tongue in your…" He stopped when Lisa held up her hand.

"You definitely need to go, Dr. Chase. All of the potential candidates are meeting Monday at 9:00 am in the diagnostic conference room. I guess I'll see you there." She turned around to head towards the kitchen. She paused at the doorway. "You can let yourself out."

Robert stood in the living room for a few moments before turning on his heel and walking out the door, letting it slam behind him. He got into his car and gripped the steering wheel tightly before leaning over and softly banging his head against it for about a minute. He couldn't believe that yet another relationship he was in had ended in less than a week. He lifted his head, frowning, then put his key in the ignition and started the car. He knew exactly who was to blame this time and he was going to make sure that the asshole paid.

_A.N. – Okay, I was thinking that Robert seemed somewhat OOC in this chapter. Would he have lost it like that on the show? Doubtful…but then again, New and Improved!Chase might actually misbehave like that. We're talking 4 years of dealing with this particular man's crap. I know he was not very nice to Lisa…but chillax! All will be well…eventually…maybe… I am sorta at a crossroads in terms of directions with this story. I had the basic idea mapped out, but I'm getting another idea, too, and if I go with the other idea, this is kinda where I need to veer off. I dunno… decisions, decisions…_


	13. Chapt13 Something Wombat This Way Comes

CHAPTER 13 – SOMETHING WOMBAT THIS WAY COMES

_Hi, folks! Sorry for the long delay in posting. I'm about to leave Costa Rica and I had a lot of stuff to pack into my final week, so I wasn't at the computer as much as I thought I would be. This chapter seems a bit uneven to me, probably because I didn't do the whole chapter in one sitting but over the course of several days. We'll see how it goes._

_Anyway, I've kind of changed my mind about how this story will go. The main part of the story will be as planned, but I'm kind of adding something to it that came to me in a flash of inspiration. This new idea will make this fic completely deviate from Season 4. Well…not completely, but it will effect the outcome of House's new team. But I should be able to incorporate some elements of Season 4. Does anyone know the approximate time frame of Season 4? I used to think it kind of followed real time, but I'm not sure. I know I've already doinked with the timeframe since there was only 3 days between Chase's termination and the start of the fic and the guitar caper happened in that three days. So…yeah…messed that up. But honestly, I didn't want him with Cameron any longer than absolutely necessary. Anyhoo…if you are a stickler for such things like following the show's timeframe exactly, you're gonna be really annoyed with me. But, if you realize that fanfiction is flexible and life is too short to sweat the small stuff, you'll be cool!! Enjoy! The next chapter will be another _interesting _one! Heh, heh, heh…_

**CHAPTER 13 – SOMETHING WOMBAT THIS WAY COMES**

House heard the angry pounding on the door and rolled his eyes. He had had a feeling that he was going to have company tonight, but he didn't feel like interruptions right now. He had TiVo'd General Hospital just in case he was unable to avoid clinic duty. Cuddy had confiscated his portable TV a few days ago and he hadn't gone to the store to replace it yet. He frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, getting my TV from Cuddy's clutches would make a good challenge for my useless-idiots-in-training" he mused. He was interrupted again by more pounding at the door. He heaved a sigh and pulled himself up from the sofa.

"What?" he answered as he glared at the younger man on the other side of the door. He was somewhat surprised when Chase pushed by him and entered his home uninvited. He actually had to grab the doorframe to keep his balance. He sighed again, wondering if Chase was going to even the score from two years ago and knock him on his ass. "Come right in, Dr. Chase", House said sarcastically, closing the door behind him.

As soon as he turned around, House got blasted with the full brunt of Chase's anger. "What the hell were you thinking? Did you even _consider _the fact that your lies could have cost Lisa her job? Or do you really not give a damn who you hurt? You are fairly intelligent, so you _must _realize that she's the only person who would bother to put up with your crap. Why do you have to ruin _everything_? You couldn't just leave us the hell alone, could you? No…you had to interrupt phone calls and harass Lisa at home and spread rumors at work! God _forbid _someone actually be happy! I know that happiness is a foreign concept to you, but some of us humans actually _enjoy_ feeling good! I should have known that you wouldn't be able to resist spreading your misery! And I _really _should have known that you would set out to sabotage anyone who was going to challenge you in any way. What, House? Are you scared of a little competition? Or are you really scared that I might actually turn out to be better than you are? Beat you at your own game? I mean…what the hell were you _thinking_?!"

House eyed Chase quizzically, his head slightly tilted as if he were concentrating. He narrowed his eyes slightly and asked the intensivist, "Did you just call me _fairly _intelligent?" House took a slight step back as Chase practically growled at him. He wasn't used to seeing the mild-mannered Aussie seriously angry about something, so he decided to poke the grizzly some more just to see what happened.

"You know, Chase, it's kind of funny. I wasn't even sure that anything had actually happened between the two of you. But the way you and Cuddy reacted in response to something that I do nearly every day is pretty much all the confirmation I need. I mean, how many times have I started a rumor about me and Cuddy? All I did was change one of the players. No one would have taken me seriously."

Chase glared at him. "Dr. Baumgardener did, remember?"

House waved him off. "Baumgardener would have let it go if Cuddy had just acted all offended and blown it off like she does everything else I say. The fact that she, and you, have your panties in a twist lets me know that my guess was right. Not that this should surprise anyone. So…whose idea was it to sic Officer Friendly on me?"

Chase couldn't help but smile a bit at the memory. "That was all Lisa. I didn't even know the guy."

House narrowed his eyes at him. "But you did convince her to ignore my phone calls and the knocking, didn't you?"

Chase shrugged noncommittally. "That doesn't matter. What does matter is that you've interfered in my life…and in Lisa's life for the last time! I'm sick of it! I can't imagine why she's been letting you push her around for all of these years."

House smirked at him. "You didn't share this opinion with her, did you? He nearly laughed when Chase's face flushed. "You did?! I'm surprised she didn't kick you out on your ass!" House watched Chase's flushed face get redder and snickered. "So what's that? Two relationships in two weeks? You really have a way with the ladies, don't ya?" House took a step back as Robert clenched his fists and stepped closer. He held up his cane in warning. "Don't think I won't use this!"

Chase took a step back and took a deep breath. The last thing he wanted to do was to be knocked unconscious. Knowing House, he'd probably find himself rolled out into the hallway. Or perhaps Wilson would be called to take care of him. Chase shook his head to clear the wayward thoughts and narrowed his eyes at the older man. "Why are you so obsessed with Lisa's personal life? Anytime she goes out with someone, you interfere. Are you jealous? Do you want her for yourself?" Chase's eyes widened as he noticed a brief flash of…something…in House's eyes. He asked incredulously, "You're in love with her?!"

House snorted derisively and turned to go sit back down on the sofa. Much to his annoyance, Chase followed him and stood in front of him, blocking the TV. House briefly contemplated throwing the remote at his former employee's head but he didn't have a replacement and he didn't relish the idea of having to get up and down to change channels, even for one night. So he gave Chase his iciest stare and asked, "Was there anything _else _I could do for you?"

Chase looked at House curiously, his anger all but forgotten. "If you love her, why didn't you ever do anything about it?"

House rolled his eyes. "Who said I was in love with her? And move out of the way!"

Chase stood his ground and repeated, "Why didn't you do something about it?"

House gauged the distance between where he was sitting and where Chase was standing and realized that the intensivist was just beyond the reach of his cane. He was fairly sure that Chase knew it, too. And as much as it galled him to admit it, he really didn't want to get into a brawl with the man. He had pushed the Aussie's buttons too many times to think Chase would pull any punches. Not to mention all of the anger that Chase never got a chance to unload on his father. House wasn't stupid. He realized that he was probably the closest thing to a father figure Chase had…even before Rowan's death. He didn't like it, but he was aware of it. He blamed that knowledge for the twinge of guilt he still occasionally felt when he remembered the incident where he punched Chase. Had it been Foreman, he might have relished the memory, but with Chase, he felt…bad.

House looked up and Chase and decided to throw him off with kilter with the truth. "I don't know if I love her or not. But I know that I can't have her."

Chase blinked in surprise. That was probably one of the most personal things House had ever said to him. He was surprised at how uncomfortable he felt hearing it. Evasion and lies were House's forte, not sharing feelings. He kind of felt the way he did when he accidentally walked in on his parents making love in their bedroom when he was a young boy, during one of the rare good periods in his life. Chase had been very embarrassed then, realizing he had intruded on something very private. He felt that way now after hearing House's confession. He shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, wishing he didn't feel so damned compelled to ask his next question, "Why can't you have her, House?"

House groaned and turned the TV off since it was obvious he wasn't going to get to watch it any time soon. "Well, for starters, she apparently prefers little boys instead of men…"

Chase cut him off. "That's a load of crap, House. She and I have been together for less than a week. This chemistry between the two of you has been going on since I've known you and has seemed especially strong over the past year."

House stood up angrily. "Well, apparently that didn't stop you from making your move, did it? You just jumped right in, as soon as Cameron was out of the picture. Do you want Stacey's number, too?" House walked around the coffee table and stood close to Chase, looking down at him with his blue eyes flashing.

Chase took a step back and took a deep breath. He was probably imagining the look in House's eyes. If it were anyone else, he would say that the other man's eyes looked angry and hurt. But this was House, and House didn't give a rat's ass about anything. He looked calmly at the older man and said, "I didn't actually think you loved her…or had strong feelings for her…until today. I just thought it was a sexual thing. And I didn't think Lisa would risk her position for just a fling. I figured that if you two were going to actually do anything, you would have done it by now."

House shrugged and turned away. "Well, it doesn't matter, now. I'm not a good bet for a real relationship. And that's what someone like Cuddy wants, deep down inside. Every night she goes home to an empty house and she hates it. Why do you think she works so late? She would rather spend her time in the hospital so she won't have to spend time home alone. I've never seen her leave the hospital by five o'clock three days in a row until this past week. And she's been relative pleasant and smiling more than usual. Do you think she would look that happy if she was involved with me?"

House frowned, annoyed with himself. He had no idea why he was actually talking to Chase like this. He wasn't even this open with Wilson. Of course, Chase had a tendency to be less judgmental than Wilson, less sanctimonious than Foreman, less self-righteous than Cameron, and less aggravating than Cuddy. In fact, House mused, Chase might actually make a pretty good protégée…provided that he got the job. Couldn't mold and shape the boy into his own image if he was working somewhere else.

Chase watched House suspiciously as the diagnostician's face went from irritated to thoughtful to crafty all in the space of under 30 seconds. He realized he didn't want to know what plans the diabolical man was hatching and responded instead to the last thing House said. "How do you know she wouldn't have been happy with you? She must like you, or else she wouldn't flirt with you the way she does. You make her laugh all the time, even when she tries not to. She admires your intelligence and the way you will fight anyone, even her, to save the patient. And you two have a history that can't be discounted." Chase wondered why in God's name he was trying to convince House that he should be with Cuddy. House was apparently wondering the same thing.

"So…you want me to head over there now and console her over the loss of her boy toy? She's probably pretty hurt right now, vulnerable. Getting into her pants out to be a piece of cake…" House didn't get to finish since he was yanked off balance by Chase's hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and pulling him close.

"Don't you even think about taking advantage of her! You're right. She wouldn't be happy with you. She deserves someone who will care for her and put her first and not try to manipulate or use her. Someone who has the capacity to love unconditionally and not use her love to his advantage." Chase felt sick as he thought about his own treatment of Lisa less than an hour ago. He slowly released House's shirt and even smoothed it out a bit before stepping back and taking a deep breath. Chase was disgusted with himself when he saw House bend over to pick up the cane that had fallen to the floor. And he had called Lisa weak! He realized now the strength it took for her to deal with Gregory House in her hospital on a regular basis and not take a scalpel to him.

House thumped his cane against the floor, bringing Chase's attention to him. "Listen to me carefully because I will never say this again. And if you ever mention it, I'll deny it. Cuddy and I had a thing a while back in college. It was brief and it ended badly. There _is _chemistry, but with her, it comes with strings, namely the hospital and other things that you need to ask her about. And I don't want to get tangled up in those strings. I'm selfish and I'm not willing to compromise. And I'm pretty sure she deserves better than that. If you can handle Cuddy's obsession with her job and her other responsibilities, you'd better go back over there and crawl on your knees and beg her forgiveness. And if you can deal with the speculation over your personal life and people always challenging your right to the job, then you'd better be in that conference room bright and early on Monday morning. And you sure as hell better out-diagnose the other idiots that have applied for the job. This is your chance to prove to everyone that you didn't get the job by getting into Lisa Cuddy's thong. If you don't, then you don't deserve it…or her."

House walked over to the door and opened it. He looked at a stunned Chase for a moment, then added, "Don't think this means I'm gonna make it easy for you. The case I have for you makes Esther's case look like a walk in the park." House let him process that for about 5 seconds before poking him with his cane. "You can go now. I have some television to watch and you have some groveling to do."

Chase walked slowly to the door. At the threshold, he stopped and looked at House. "Thanks. I really…" Chase jumped back to keep from being hit by the door that was slammed in his face. He stood there for a moment before smiling slowly and shaking his head. He headed out to his car and got in. Apparently, he had some groveling to do.


	14. Chapter 14 Ain't Too Proud To Beg

CHAPTER 14 – AIN'T TOO PROUD TO BEG

**CHAPTER 14 – AIN'T TOO PROUD TO BEG**

Lisa groaned softly and rolled over in her bed while she slept. It had taken her forever to fall asleep. After Robert had been banished from her house, she had prepared dinner angrily, with lots of banging pots and one broken glass that she had slammed against the table while thinking about Robert's comments. She couldn't believe the way that he had talked to her and was hurt to find that he had such a low opinion of her. Robert had returned to her house a few hours after the argument, but Lisa refused to allow him in. She knew that he wouldn't pull a House and resort to banging on her door or shouting loudly enough to disturb the neighbors, so she slipped her iPod earbuds in her ears, stretched out on the sofa, and ignored his soft pleas through the door. She didn't know exactly how long he tapped on the door and called out for her, but when she tentatively turned off her iPod an hour later, everything was quiet. She was annoyed with herself for being disappointed.

After taking a short bubble bath (too short because the memories it invoked made her hurry along her bath and get out quickly) and reading over some paperwork from the hospital, Lisa settled in for the night. She technically was off for the weekend since Robert had made plans for the weekend, but since those plans were apparently scrapped, she might as well spend Saturday at the hospital. It sure beat sitting around her house and crying over some relationship that failed before it even got started.

Lisa tossed and turned for several hours before finally settling into a troubled sleep. In her dream, she was running down a long corridor at PPTH. She kept trying to find the door to her office and she couldn't find it. Every door that she opened had something unpleasant behind it. One door had a smoking MRI machine and a technician standing next to it shaking her head and holding what appeared to be an invoice for a brand new machine that would drain a great deal of the equipment budget. Another door had James Wilson, lecturing her about giving in to one of House's demands. Another door had Edward Vogler, laughing evilly as the whole board unanimously voted her out of her job. The next door featured Cameron and Foreman coming toward her, talking over each other in their haste to tell her about House's latest shenanigans. Another door showed her doctor sadly shaking her head over another negative test result. On and on it went…Mr. Foreman looking at her sadly when she wouldn't allow the tests to be performed that could save his son…Stacey asking her about the "middle ground"…House telling her what a bad mother she would be…Tritter staring at her with his cold eyes…

Lisa groaned softly and rolled over. In her dream, she stopped running down the hall and turned around, sniffing. She thought she smelled roses. She walked slowly in the direction of the smell. She felt like she was walking through a cloud and the feeling was soothing. She stopped walking and the scent of roses grew stronger. She felt someone step behind her and put strong arms around her. She immediately felt her rattled nerves even out and her heartbeat slowing down. She leaned back into the strength that was supporting her and the walls of the hospital slowly disappeared in the way of dreams. Her heart started to beat rapidly again when the hands began to caress her body softly and lovingly. She let out another moan, this time in pleasure as soft lips kissed her ear and trailed warmly down the side of her neck. One of the hands was gently stroking her breasts while the other was on her stomach, slowly but purposefully heading lower. She heard a softly accented voice whispering in her ear, "Lisa, can you hear me?"

Lisa shook her head dreamily and moaned again as the lower hand brushed against her tight, dark curls and headed still lower. The voice intruded again, "Lisa…luv, I want you to wake up." The voice was smooth and sexy and Lisa found herself struggling to do its bidding.

Lisa slowly woke up to find herself wrapped in a strong embrace. She tensed, knowing who was behind her. She realized that her short satin nightgown was pushed up slightly and that _his _hand was just inside the waistband of her panties. She clenched her teeth against the moan that wanted to escape again when his tongue swirled around the edge of her ear. He _knew _she was sensitive on her ears and he was apparently taking advantage of that along with her sleepy state. She tried to move away from him but his arms tightened slightly, subtly letting her know that she wasn't going anywhere. She hissed at him, "What the hell are you doing in my bedroom in the middle of the night?"

Robert knew that he had probably one opportunity to make things right before she really started struggling. He had a feeling she would be a wildcat and he didn't really want to wrestle with her – not like that anyway. He spoke carefully, hoping she would let him finish.

"Lisa, I was an idiot. I knew it as soon as I left…hell, I knew it as those things I said were coming out of my mouth. I guess the years of being manipulated, lied to, and abused by House just caught up with me and you were there…I know that isn't an excuse. Although I am often surprised by what House gets away with, I was wrong to accuse you of being weak. You are the strongest, smartest, sexiest woman I have ever encountered and anyone else would have given up on that sadistic bastard years ago. I can't stand the idea that I might have lost you. I know that coming in here like this is wrong and I'm taking horrible advantage by begging for your forgiveness while you're half asleep, but I'm truly a desperate man. My earlier actions to the contrary, I am a fairly intelligent man and I would be a fool to not fight for the best thing that has happened in my life so far. Please forgive me." Robert began to nibble at her ear. "Please let me back into your heart." He gently kissed the back of her neck after moving her hair out of the way. "Please let me make love to you and show you exactly how I feel about you." He pulled her tightly against him again and just held her while he waited for her verdict.

Lisa lay in front of him with his arms around her and tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. She could have moved away from him when he was moving her hair off of her neck, but she realized that she liked it just fine where she was. She already knew she would forgive him. The feeling of security and warmth that she felt in her dream when his arms came around her told her everything that she needed to know. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to make him suffer a bit for being such an ass. She turned around so that she was facing him. She heard his slight gasp and saw him frown in consternation before running a finger across her wet cheeks.

Robert felt like a first class jerk. He had made her cry and he didn't know exactly what to do about it. He leaned in and softly kissed the tears from her cheeks. He heard her take a shuddery breath as more tears fell. He began to feel slightly panicked. He had dealt with women's tears before. His mom had become a virtual tear factory when she was on one of her binges. And goodness knows he and Foreman had dealt with Cameron's tears over the years. But this was different. He had caused this by striking out at her because he was angry at House. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped her in his arms and whispered words of apology and comfort in her ears.

Lisa allowed him to pull her close. When she had turned to face him, she fully intended to give him a piece of her mind before allowing him to make it up to her. But when she saw the regret and self-loathing in his eyes and she felt him kissing her tears away, she absolutely lost it. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so damned soft and vulnerable. And what amazed her even more was that she didn't feel uncomfortable being soft around Robert. At work, she always tried to put on a tough front, but she hardly ever allowed herself to open up to anyone.

Ironically, House was one of few people that had seen the other side of her. But she never felt completely comfortable with House the way she did with Robert. With Gregory House, she always knew that some day he would take whatever part of herself she had shared with him and twist it around to hurt her. She still cringed whenever she thought about House shouting at her that she would make a bad mother. And he never apologized for it. She knew that people often said things in the heat of anger that were hurtful. Robert had said some hurtful things to her today, although she had to admit (if only to herself) that his words had some bit of truth to them. The big difference between Robert and House was in the heartfelt apology that he latter whispered in her ear.

Lisa leaned back as much as she was able and looked him in the eyes. "Robert, don't ever talk to me like that again. If you're angry, then we can talk about it…but don't…"

Robert put a finger up to her lips. "I won't. I had no right to say what I said and I'm…I'm sorry."

Lisa looked at him and read the truth in his eyes. She let him kiss her gently as his hands continued to work their magic on her body. The kiss soon became heated as he slid her nightgown off of her body. She ran her hands along his chest and swirled her tongue in circles around his nipples. She heard him gasp and smiled. He was more sensitive than she was in that particular area. She shifted and pushed him over so that he was lying on his back. She quickly straddled him and pinned his arms over his head. She glared at him and said, "And the next time we have a fight, don't you dare come creeping into my bed and try to seduce me in my sleep. That's cowardly _and_ unfair."

Robert grinned at her, slid his arms free, and quickly reversed their positions, pinning her arms with one hand and putting his weight on her legs in case she decided to knee him. "Cowardly? Absolutely! You terrify me, woman! Unfair? Probably. But I needed all the advantage I could get. Effective? Definitely! Because I like the position I'm in now and I have a feeling you do, too." He ran his tongue slowly down the center of her torso, only releasing her hands when he heard her moan again. He continued on his journey south, showing her with his actions as well as his words what she meant to him.


End file.
